Ill tot Abbie saved by new hospital monitor

A SIX-MONTH-OLD baby was saved from a life-threatening bout of meningitis with the help of hospital equipment installed just hours earlier.

Abbie Sisson was given a 4% chance of survival after being rushed to intensive care at the Queen's Medical Centre.

The Sneinton tot had been diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia, the blood poisoning version of meningitis.

But medics were able to use the Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitor (USCOM), installed just hours earlier, to work out the drugs she needed to survive.

It works by measuring the speed, volume and force of blood from the heart to show what kind of help it needs to function.

Dr Patrick Davies, Consultant in Paediatrics at the QMC, said Abbie was within minutes of cardiac arrest during her two-and-a-half hours in intensive care.

But information provided by the monitor allowed staff to give her the right medication in the right dose.

Dr Davies said: "Abbie responded excellently to treatment and knowledge of exactly what was happening with her heart was an integral part of her treatment."

USCOM was paid for with the help of £15,000 raised by Rushcliffe councillor Barrie Cooper for Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) Charity.

Coun Cooper chose the organisation – which raises funds for work at QMC and City Hospital – as his charity of the year.

He helped raise cash with events including concerts, lunches and a quiz night.

Abbie has now made a full recovery after being rushed to hospital on January 16 and is back at her home in Carlton Road.

Mum Charlotte said: "You would never know now that she was so ill – she's giggling and really happy and absolutely perfect. The staff were absolutely amazing."

To find out more about NUH Charity, to make a donation or to get involved in fundraising, go to www.nuhcharity.org.uk.

robert.parsons@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk