Currently one of the senior most neonatologists of India with 30 years experience.

Certificate of exemplary performance given by Sydney University after obtaining Fellowship in Neonatology in 1991.Started Ventilatory care first time in Chennai in Child Trust Hospital Madras in 1991 .Subsequently started ventilator care first time in Kerala in 1992 . He was first to introduce High Frequency Ventilation in India in 1998. He saved the first 500 gram baby of 23 weeks gestation in India in 1997. His international invention of use of Viagra in blue babies saved thousands of babies 2002. He was professor of neonatology in Amrita Institute of medical sciences Kochin from 2002 to 2010. He was invited by NMC specialty hospital to develop the department from 2010, and has saved more than 2000 babies of 27 weeks gestation with 99% survival. He finished tenure in NMC specialty in 2017. To date he has saved close to 25000 preterm babies with 93% survival above 26 weeks gestation.

Dr. P.K.Rajiv is a pioneer in the field of Neonatal care in India with 27 years of path breaking acheivements in his trail blazing career. His expertise in ventilatory care both conventional and innovative has rated him as one of the most outstanding specialists of the country. He has to his credit of starting neonatal ventilation FIRST TIME in Chennai in 1991. This was among the 5 main centres dealing with structured neonatal care in India at that time. He started ventilatory care for the FIRST TIME IN KERALA in 1993. His 24 bedded 3000 sq foot Neonatal unit at PVS Memorial Hospital Kochi was reported to be the biggest and most technologically advanced unit in the country having a survival of 93% above 24 weeks gestation.

He went on to start HIGH FREQUENCY VENTILATION IN INDIA in 1997 and perfected the technique . He introduced HFo first time to Karnataka at Mallya Hospital Bangalore 2000, by saving 32 weeks gestation twins who failed conventional ventilation. He was the first to SAVE A 500gm BABY born less than 24 weeks gestation in 1997, with a good neurological outcome. He was invited to start the most technologically advanced unit in the country at Amrita Insitute of medical sciences Kochi in 2002 . This is a 1500 bed university hospital with all subspecialities having national and international rating. He introduced BUBBLE CPAP first time in INDIA in June 2002.

His original work in use of VIAGRA in PULMONARY HYPERTENSION of newborn successfully in May 2002 was rated internationally and widely acclaimed. He wasTHE FIRST IN THE WORLD to use it successfully and develop guidelines for its use. It remains a life saving drug in this potentially fatal condition in developing countries. He was promoted to Professor of Neonatology in 2003 and developed fellowship programmes in Neonatology and diplomate in national board DNB neonatology. His unique survival of 94.5%of ventilated neonates was a national landmark.

His academic contribution was his best selling book CPAP BEDSIDE APPLICATION 2008 was the first book in he world on this techniquewith a review of 134 articles. It gave clear and comprehensive guidelines to beginners and practioners. Dr.Richard Polin reviewed it as an excellent primer on CPAP. Dr.Vinod Bhutani stanford university USA wrote I loved that book. Dr.Georg Simbrunner reviewed it as an elaborate and well structured comprehensive book. His next book ESSENTIALS OF NEONATAL VENTILATION 2017 is a comprehensive 900 page book covering all aspects of bedside management in detail, aimed at being a bedside resource book giving management guidelines based on avoiding lung injury and rationalising gentle ventilation and optimising the use of CPAP. Dr.Dharmapuri Vidyasagar university of Chicago has  accepted to be the co author 

Dr Rajiv was Head of newborn intensive care at nmc speciality hospital Dubai. He brings his expertise of 27 years in ventilatory care and the handling over 18000 critical babies, to he region. hIs facination for state of the art made him buy the most advanced neonatal ventilator VN 500 drager in Dubai in 2010 for the first time. he conducted the first conference on NEWBORN SCREENING in UAE in Dubai on April 2010. He was one of the two neonatologists invited by the cleveland clinic USA to deliver a lecture at the arab health conference in January 2012. He proposes to give a low cost proposal to the Government to optimise the care of babies with respiratory distress based on the successfully implemented proposal given to the health minister of Kerala in January 2010. He envisages a Arab board fellowship in Neonatology by 2013.More [+]

This was rated highly by experts and intensivists. It is going for second edition 2025 with three more emminent editors Dr Ramanathan Dr Yogen singh, Dr Haresh Kirpalini. There will be a E book link of major chapters to cmes. The first edition was a highly acclaimed comprehensive book on bedside ventilation application by world experts, the format a brainwave of dr Rajiv. This sold near 2000 copies worldwide. Highly researched new authors Dr Tonse raju, Dr Bradley Yoder, Dr Peter rimensberger, Dr Ola Saugstad, Dr Steve Abman, Dr Anton van Kaam, Dr Daniele de Luca,Dr Nadya Yusuf ,Dr Pradeep suryavamshi, Dr Yuan Shi, Deepika sankaran, Dr juin kong, dr Elizabeth Foglia, dr Ju Lee Olei, Dr Fracasco Raimondia, Dr Sergio golombek, Dr Belinda chan, Dr Bret manley, Dr Amit Mukerji, Dr GustavBelteki,Dr Shi Yuan,Dr KK Thai, and many more experts have joined, to make it a masterpiece of academic and research resource at the bedside for all nicus of the world.

This is going for third edition2025,with world renowned CPAP experts Dr Jen Tein Wung, Dr Rakesh Sahani, Columbia university USA. This text book will be published in 2025. This is reported to be first comprehensive book in the world on CPAP. Dr Richard Polin head of Newborn icu, Columbia university, remarked the second edition as a excellent primer on CPAP. The New editors Dr Jen Tein Wung is worlds formost researcher in CPAP with 40 years experience. Dr Rakesh Sahani Head of department, Columbia university Usa is research faculty in CPAP over 3 decades. The extraordinary success of this unit in CPAP could not be replicated by most centres worldwide. Research data published by Dr Rajiv et al from Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences Kochi India 2007, indicated 73 percent of preterm babies 28 weeks gestation and above need only judicious application of CPAP. Costing and uniform application would make it feasible even in level 2 nicus worldwide and all LMIC. This has immense logistic implications in neonatal respiratory care. E Book lectures will be linked with a see one do one approach.

This Is a comprehensive book on Cpap , Snippv, Nasal cannula ,Nasal High Frequency Ventilation by worlds best . Dr Ramanathan is the original researcher on nasal snippv and Hfov. and his ventilatory strategy is unique. This is reported to be the first book in the world in this critical area of neonatal ventilation .Dr Rajiv wrote the worlds first book on CPAP ,2008, with near three decades experience in neonatal ventilation. His textbook Essentials of neonatal ventilation 2019 elsevier is reorted to be a masterpiece of bedside management. This decade, the dictum is to keep baby away from invasive ventilation and attendant lung injury..Dr Alan Jobe rightly said If you do not invasively ventilate you will not get Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. Dr Ramanathan is one of the most researched faculty in NIV. with many pathbreaking publications . His nasal cannula is the universally acclaimed RAM CANNULA. He has also designed. a NIV ventilator to his credit to be used in delivery room and short term ventilation. His research indicates near 80 percent af babies 1000 grams and above canbe successfully managed with NIV. Dr Yogen singh has done yeoman work in cardiac hemodynamics and NIV. Dr Nalinikanta is an original researcher on HFO and innovative ventilation with numerous pathbreaking research articles on neonatal ventilation. E Book lectures will be linked with a see one do one approach.

President Dr Basavaraju

Invited Dr Rajiv to be Member of International Liaison committee of IAP 2024