SPB continues to be on ventilator, ECMO support, condition stable

Playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, who is currently battling COVID-19, continues to be on ventilator and ECMO support, and condition is stable, MGM Healthcare said on Saturday (August 22).

“He was closely being monitored by its multidisciplinary clinical team. Balasubrahmanyam continues to be on ventilator and ECMO support in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU),” Dr Anuradha Baskaran, Assistant Director-Medical Services, MGM Healthcare said in a bulletin.

“His current clinical condition is stable and he continues to be closely monitored by our multidisciplinary clinical team,” the hospital treating the 74-year-old musician said.

The team treating him consists of specialists from Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Pulmonolgy, Infectious Diseases and ECMO care. It was “actively collaborating” with international experts from reputed centres in the US and UK that have “witnessed large volumes of COVID-19 patients requiring ECMO support,” Baskaran said.

“The international experts concur with the clinical care that is being provided by our expert team to Thiru SP Balasubrahmanyam,” Baskaran added.

SPB, as the popular singer is known, was admitted to the hospital on August 5 after testing positive for COVID-19.

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He was put on the ECMO support, a heart-lung assistance machine, on Wednesday (August 19), nearly a week after he suffered a setback in his health.

Celebrities from the Tamil film industry, including director Bharathiraaja, actors Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, lyricist Vairamuthu, members from fan clubs of various other actors, and a major portion of the general public have been praying for his recovery.

(With inputs from agencies)