Every parent's worst nightmare came true in Hyderabad after a hospital administered a wrong drug to over 90 newborns resulting in the death of two babies. Out of the 32 babies currently undergoing treatment, three are in critical condition and on ventilators.
The Nampally Urban Health Care Centre in Hyderabad had given vaccination as part of routine immunisation for five diseases – Hepatitis B, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Hib and Tetanus. The hospital staff is also required to give a dose of painkiller to keep fever at bay. However, in a major blunder, the hospital staff gave the wrong painkiller. Instead of giving paracetamol, the staff instead gave tramadol, a painkiller given to adults and children over the age of two. The mistake was made as paracetamol and tramadol both have similar covers, reports The News Minute.
The Nampally Urban Health Centre realised its mistake on Thursday morning after one-and-a-half-month-old Sheikh Faizan was brought to the hospital and was declared dead on arrival. The authorities then called the parents of every infant who was in the hospital.
Among the parents at Niloufer Hospital is Amjad Hussein whose son was given the opioid drug on Wednesday. "My wife got a call at around 11 am from Nampally Health Centre asking to immediately take the baby to Niloufer hospital, they disclosed that something went wrong with the vaccination," Amjad told TNM. "It's been more than six hours but the doctors didn't give me an update," he added.
Condition of infants
Murali Krishna, the superintendent of the Niloufer Hospital, said that the condition of the babies is stable. He said, "The condition of the infants is stabilizing. All of them have been put under an ICU set up. We have to monitor them strictly for the next 48 to 72 hours until the drug's effect comes down." While he did not divulge any details, he mentioned that a drug called 'naloxene' has been given to the infants. This drug is commonly used as an antidote for opioid poisoning.
Parents demand action against hospital
A complaint has been filed with Habeebnagar police station.
"Those responsible for the incident should be arrested. We have been sitting here worried for more than 10 hours, because of these erring doctors," Jayashree, a parent and a resident of Aghapura, was quoted as saying by TNM.
