A singer's symptoms of severe bleeding and passing out were rare and the brain is still swelling, say Siriraj Hospital doctors.
Butsaran "Numtarn The Star 5" Thongchiew, 28, shocked her family when blood poured from her nose and mouth at her home in Samut Sakhon province on Tuesday. She then passed out and her heart stopped before she was resuscitated and rushed to Samut Sakhon Hospital. She was later transferred to Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok.
Butsaran vomited large amounts of blood when she was transferred to Siriraj at 8.15am on Wednesday. The severe bleeding blocked the airway, leading to breathing difficulties, and her heart stopped again, said Prasit Wattanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, during a press conference at the public hospital.
The actress received CPR twice at her home and at Samut Sakhon Hospital. Siriraj Hospital later sent a team of doctors led by Dr Pranya Sakiyalak, a cardiology expert, to perform extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life-support technique, to keep her alive while she was transferred to Siriraj, said Dr Prasit.
The actress was admitted to the hospital’s ICU unit, where doctors diagnosed her conditions and applied medication to balance acid and alkaline levels in the blood.
As of Thursday morning, the singer had a stable pulse and the bleeding stopped. She was later sent for a CT scan to find the cause of the bleeding in the lungs.
The scan results found no bleeding spot in both lungs. Her brain was swelling but the haemorrhaging was invisible, said Dr Prasit.
“This disease is relatively rare. We detected blood vessels are broken but we don’t know where. Doctors will continue treating her by symptom until we find the source of the bleeding. Her condition is now stable as the bleeding has stopped,’’ said the dean.
Dr Pranya said he had never seen such symptoms. While there have been cases where patients coughed up and vomited blood, none requires the use of the ECMO technique.
The actress's conditions have drawn outpouring support from fans and netizens on social media while the public is baffled by the strange and sudden symptoms.
Her film director father, Wiroj Thongchiew, said his daughter had no chronic illnesses. Before she suffered severe bleeding and passed out, she was still in good health.
Before she fell ill, the young actress had posted on her instagram @numtarny, greeting her fans. She apparently looked healthy at the time.
Actress Butsaran "Numtarn'' poses to her instagram three days ago. (Photo taken from @numtarny instagram)