Medical professionals save passenger on Delhi-Kolkata flight
Times of India | 14 November 2024
1234 Kolkata: The presence of a nurse and two doctors on board an aircraft set to take off from Delhi for Kolkata helped save a passenger who suffered a heart attack early on Monday.
As IndiGo flight 6E 2788, which was to depart at 2.35am, began rolling on the taxiway for takeoff, the pilot made an announcement, inquiring if there was a doctor on board to assist in a medical emergency.
A woman and two men then identified themselves as health professionals. While the woman was a veteran nurse, the men were young doctors. They were guided to the seat where a passenger in his 50s was sweating profusely and had a feeble pulse. When asked if he had diabetes, the passenger replied in the affirmative.
"We suspected he was experiencing hypoglycemia, and I immediately asked an air hostess to get me a glass of water and sugar. I then fed it to him, and he felt slightly better. But since he was feeling mild pain in the epigastric region, we gave him an antacid. This brought him some relief. With the situation under control, the plane started moving towards the runway," recounted Doli Biswas, the chief nursing officer who was on the flight.
However, before the plane could take off, another emergency call was made for the same passenger. Biswas found him lying in the aisle, with a very faint pulse but still responsive. She checked the vitals and requested sorbitrate, administered it in two doses at five-minute intervals, and observed some improvement in the patient's condition. Following this, she gave him a 325mg aspirin tablet and a 300mg dose of clopidogrel with water.
The passenger's blood pressure, which was initially unrecordable, gradually improved to 80/60 mmHg, and his pulse also became palpable. "At this point, it was evident that he suffered a heart attack. Though the passenger, who hailed from Agartala, was insistent that he felt fine and would travel to Kolkata, we told him he needed hospitalisation and immediate medical attention," Biswas recounted.
The crew arranged for an ambulance, and he was subsequently handed over to the medical team. The plane finally took off over an hour and a half behind schedule and reached Kolkata at 6.15 am.