Kenyan Baby Survives Fatal Pearson Syndrome After Surgery in India

Several doctors from the Operation Rainbow Canada during an operation
Several doctors during an operation
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Operation Rainbow Canada

A Kenyan toddler aged 14 months has defied the odds after surviving a rare disease that usually leads to death.

Baby Arianna was suffering from the rare and fatal Pearson Syndrome disorder.

The Pearson Syndrome is an uncommon condition that impacts multiple body systems affecting the bone marrow and pancreas. Patients of this disease experience recurring diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, growth deficiency, and often death.

The condition also results in bleeding complications due to insufficient blood and platelet production. Medical literature documents merely 150 cases of this rare condition, with an occurrence rate of one per million individuals.

Photo of a patient during a blood test.
Photo of a patient during a blood test.
Photo
Nursing Answers

Children diagnosed with this disease barely survive past their first year. This is, however, not the case for baby Arianna.

Baby Arianna's journey to treatment began in Kenya, where she was receiving multiple blood and platelet transfusions. She was battling severe anaemia from birth, which hindered her growth and development.

Her worsening condition forced an urgent half-match donor transplant for survival. She was admitted to an Indian hospital with anaemia and a depleted platelet count.

Following her admission, the medical team in the hospital conducted bone marrow testing and genetic assessments, which identified her problem as Pearson Syndrome.

Due to the condition's rare and complex nature, the hospital implemented a comprehensive medical approach where baby Arianna underwent examinations by various specialists, including pediatric nephrologists, pediatric gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists and ENT doctors as the syndrome affects numerous organs and can result in eye complications such as abnormal lens and pupils, glaucoma and hearing impaired.

After a thorough assessment, the team of doctors determined that a bone marrow transplant was the most suitable treatment option. The syndrome affects multiple systems and stem cell transplantation offers the best therapeutic approach.

She underwent a half-matched bone marrow donor transplant from her mother at a private healthcare facility in Delhi.

A team of doctors performed a stem cell transplant with a thoroughly planned chemotherapy regimen.

According to the Times of India Publication, baby Arianna was discharged in stable condition within 21 days.

A photo of the International Arrivals section at the Mumbai Airport, India.jpg
A photo of the International Arrivals section at the Mumbai Airport, India.
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Mumbai Airport
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