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Marginal improvement in Kumaramangalam's condition

Tara Shankar Sahay and Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

There is a marginal improvement in the condition of Union Power Minister P R Kumaramangalam, sources in the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences said late Wednesday evening. His condition had stabilised in the afternoon but he continued to be in a critical state.

Doctors battling to save the life of the minister who continues to be critically ill, however, sounded a cautious note warning that recovery from multiple organ failure, which the minister is suffering from, is a rare event. They refuse to reveal the exact nature of his illness and what caused it.

"We have carried out various tests on Kumaramangalam and are analysing them. The results will be out soon, but right now we have nothing to state," said AIIMS medical superintendent R K Sharma.

Kumaramangalam has been diagnosed as suffering from septicaemia of the blood and his circulation has failed. He is on assisted ventilation, his blood pressure is extremely low, urine output is low, left lobe consolidation has high potential and is suffering from multiple organ failure.

His condition has deteriorated since Friday, August 11, when he first went to AIIMS for a check-up after suffering from high fever. He was admitted the next morning. Later, in the evening of August 15, he was shifted to the intensive care unit. Wednesday morning, he was put on life support systems.

However, sources at AIIMS revealed that he was not responding to treatment. At present, Kumaramangalam is completely dependent on the life support systems. Ten specialists are attending on him.

Doctors at AIIMS reveal that Kumaramangalam had been ill since a few months, but they are unwilling to comment on the nature of the illness. However, they refuted rumours of Kumaramangalam suffering from cancer. Sources revealed that he had been taking treatment at a private hospital in the capital since last week.

Two doctors at AIIMS told rediff.com that Kumaramangalam's condition had, most probably, been brought about by septicaemia of the blood, which is akin to blood poisoning (but is not blood cancer).

Dr Rakesh Ranjan, an eye specialist, pointed out that Kumaramangalam's symptoms were a classic case of blood septicaemia: failed circulation and respiration, low blood pressure and multiple organ failure.

Dr Ranjan, however, added that such an ailment, while common among the poorer sections of society who live in unhygienic conditions, was rare among those from the higher strata of society. "For a cabinet minister to get such an ailment, it must have come about through sheer negligence, either on his part or that of his physician," said Ranjan.

Dr Pramod Kumar, a heart specialist, pointed out that blood septicaemia was an infection of the circulation system, which affected the entire body. It could have come about through diabetes, infection in the urinary tract or from kidney failure.

"However, it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause," warned Dr Kumar.

Doctors attending on Kumaramangalam are hopeful of him staging a recovery. However, they sounded a cautious note warning that recovery from multiple organ failure is a rare event.

"We are doing our best, and we are also praying," said a doctor who is attending on the minister.

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