Celebrated actor Soumitra Chatterjee’s consciousness levels have dipped, and he may be put on invasive devices for airway support, doctors treating him at a private hospital here have said.
A board of neurologist and nephrologists is expected to take a decision on the future course of his treatment on Monday, ndtv.com reported on Monday. Some doctors have been quoted as describing his condition as "very critical."
Sources indicated that the 85-year-old Dadasaheb Phalke award winner may also undergo “plasmapheresis or plasma exchange, a procedure that involves extracting a patient's blood to filter out the plasma components such as auto-antibodies in an attempt to reduce the attack on the patient's own body.
"We will again sit with the family because they have been primed and they have primarily agreed for it. We will take a call on two major issues, one is invasive of every support to sustain things and plasmapheresis," Dr Arindam Kar, who is leading the medical team treating Chatterjee, said Sunday evening.
Chatterjee was admitted to Belle Vue Clinic, a private hospital, on October 6 after testing positive for Covid-19. He had to be shifted to ICU on October 9 after developing some complications.
His prolonged stay at the hospital was leading to further complications, sources in the hospital said. “You all know he is not keeping well. His consciousness, despite all our efforts, is not improving. Rather it has gone down," Dr Kar added.
Mr Chatterjee's platelet count has come down and so has his haemoglobin while his urea level is up.
The key problem, Dr Kar said, was COVID-19 encephalopathy. "That is the crux of the matter, the most important issue for which his improvement has not happened," the doctor said. Encephalopathy is a general term to describe a disease that affects the function or structure of the brain.
Chatterjee had tested negative for Covid-19 last week after which he was shifted to a non-Covid ITU. He was doing well last week, and doctors seemed upbeat. He was given convalescent plasma therapy soon after his admission.
