LAHORE - Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday diagnosed with an auto immune disease, immune thrombocytopenia, which causes immune system to attack and destroy platelets.
Special Medical Board headed by Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Principal Prof Mahmood Ayyaz has started treatment for the disease after the diagnosis.
On the recommendation of Dr Tahir Shamsi who diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia, doctors started Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) for controlling infection due to poor functioning of immune system.
Immune thrombocytopenia is a disorder when immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys platelets, which are cell fragments that help blood clot. It may be triggered by viral or bacterial infection.
The SMB also deferred PET CT Scan and bone marrow test from PKLI where all necessary arrangements were already made.
Prof Ayyaz said treatment of Sharif has been started that would start giving results within five days. He said that six mega kits transfused earlier have gone waste due to auto immune disease.
He said that platelets count has reached 20,000 after the start of treatment. He said the patient has been stopped from brushing teeth and shaving as precautionary measures. He said even a small cut could prove dangerous for patients with low platelets count.
He said the PET CT Scan was still under consideration that would be carried out after further improvement in health condition.
Contradicting reports of biopsy of bone marrow, he said that it was working properly. Ruling out the possibility of blood or bone marrow cancer, he said the real issue was destruction of platelets by the immune system.
Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid said that Sharif was satisfied with his treatment at Services Hospital. She said abdominal ultrasound of Sharif would be scanned if suggested by the doctors.
She said Dr Shamsi had briefed the patient about his health conditions and treatment plan and the best treatment facilities were being provided to him and all medical reports would be shared with the media.
“Bone marrow of Nawaz Sharif is making platelets. Efforts are being made to control diabetes and blood pressure. We have the best team of doctors. Nawaz Sharif’s heath will further improve in next two or three days. He has not expressed desire to go abroad for treatment,” she said and added only courts could allow Sharif to proceed abroad.
She said the government has offered Sharif to call any doctor of his choice. She said the SMB was in close liaison with Dr Adnan, personal physician of Sharif.
Sending Maryam back to jail draw opp wrath
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and other family members visited the hospital to inquire after the health of Nawaz Sharif. Religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jamil also met the ex-PM. PML-N leaders including Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Mariyam Aurangzeb also visited the hospital but did not allow to meet the party supreme leader.
Maryam Nawaz, who was admitted to Service Hospital after suffering from anxiety attack last night, was shifted back to Kot Lakhpat Jail on early Thursday morning that infuriated PML-N leadership and workers.
Talking to media outside the hospital, Khawaja Asif said the party was contemplating on formally requesting the court to allow Sharif conditional bail to go abroad for treatment of his multiple ailments.
He said going abroad for treatment would be the discretion of former PM. He said the schedule of Azadi March would not be changed and party would follow the directives of Sharif as per already taken decision.
He alleged that government had played with the health condition of Nawaz Sharif and ministers used sarcastic language and comments against him.
Ahsan Iqbal condemned sending Maryam back to jail in the wee hours even without waiting for the morning. He said the tension was really damaging for the heath Nawaz Sharif. Sending his daughter back to jail would be a major source of tension and mental torture, he said, adding, “if there was a Pak-India war breaking out that required her to be sent back in the night.”
Mariyam Aurangzeb said PM’s tweet on Sharif’s illness was nothing but an attempt to gain public sympathies. She said if Imran Khan had any amount of human feelings left, he would not have put the political opponents in death row cells to cause them mental and physical torture. She said Khan had become completely blind and insane in hatred of PML-N.
Attaullah Tarar said the government was talking about facilitating treatment and at the same time resorting to such tactics to disturb ailing Sharif and his family. He said the rulers should stop doing politics on health conditions of opponents. He demanded shifting of Maryam back to the hospital for proper treatment.