Associate Professor Luong Quoc Chinh shares the joy of a remarkable recovery with the patient after 17 days in hospital (Photo: Hospital provided).
Bach Mai Hospital said on October 22 that its medical team had saved the critically ill patient, who was found deeply unconscious on September 23 after more than an hour of exercise and sauna use.
He was taken to a private hospital with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 5 out of 15, a temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius and low blood pressure. After emergency treatment and intubation to support his breathing, he was transferred to Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi.
Magnetic resonance imaging of his brain and cerebral blood vessels found no clear structural abnormalities.
On September 24, he was admitted to the Neurological Intensive Care Department at the hospital's Institute of Neurology, still in a coma of unknown cause and suffering from shock and multiple organ failure.
Associate Professor Luong Quoc Chinh, head of the department, said the patient had sustained damage to several organs and systems, including the liver, kidneys, muscles and blood-clotting system.
Doctors placed him on a ventilator, provided continuous renal replacement therapy, administered vasopressors and antibiotics, and used other measures to support organ function.
His condition gradually improved with intensive treatment. He regained consciousness, his fever subsided and he was successfully weaned off the ventilator. He was able to breathe room air, eat and drink by mouth, and regain mobility. His kidney function and blood clotting improved, while signs of infection were brought under control.
After 17 days of treatment, the patient was stable enough to be discharged.
On October 19, the US Embassy in Hanoi sent a letter thanking Bach Mai Hospital's leadership and medical staff for their dedicated, professional care and effective coordination throughout the treatment.
