A 19 year old sportsman at Royal College Colombo passed away Wednesday evening, allegedly due to medical misconduct by doctors at the National Hospital. A family member confirmed that they were weighing their options with regard to legal action.
Nabeel Jalaludeen was a member of the 2009 rugby team at his alma mater, and was also on the 2nd X1 cricket team. A family member told The Sunday Leader that young Jalaludeen sustained a cut when he jumped over a fence at the Royal-Thomian “Big Match” on March 20 to congratulate a team member. He was taken to the Accident Ward at the General Hospital, where he was given a tetanus shot, and prescribed additional drugs, as the doctor said he was vitamin-deficient.
Young Jalaludeen had taken the medicine for 13 days as prescribed, and suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to Durdans Hospital, and admitted to the Emergency Treatment Unit. The medical manager at Durdans confirmed that Jalaludeen had indeed been admitted, and had subsequently been admitted into the ICU when complications arose.
The Acting Director at the Accident Ward, General Hospital, Dr. Ariyawansa, said that as there were thousands of outpatients every day, it would be difficult for him to pinpoint a case offhand, unless the specific prescription and date of admission were given. He added that he had heard nothing on the case to date. Director at the General Hospital, Hector Weerasinghe’s mobile phone was switched off, and repeated attempts to contact him failed.
The family member revealed that the drugs given to Jalaludeen were not, in fact, vitamins, but were used to treat patients suffering from seizures. As a result, the family member said Jalaludeen exhibited classic symptoms of a deadly skin condition known as “Stevens-Johnson Syndrome,” (SJS) where cell death causes the dermis layer of the skin to separate from the epidermis. SJS can be caused by viral infections and by the use of antibiotics. It can also be caused due to a severe allergic reaction to medication.
The family member described Jalaludeen’s kidneys, then his eyes and other vital organs, had been affected by the drug, “like poison,” until finally he was on life-support. However as his condition did not improve the family was forced to disconnect the ventilator on Wednesday. The family member lamented that Jalaludeen had been in perfect health, only sustaining minor injuries while playing sports. However, Secretary of the Government Medical Officer’s Association, Dr. Bimantha Gunasekara, said according to information he received, the doctor was not at fault. “The doctor prescribed the correct drug at the right dosage. It was the pharmacist who gave the wrong dosage of the drug,” Gunasekara said. He said therefore that as far as he knew the doctor had not prescribed the wrong drug in treating Jalaludeen, since the drug concerned was used to treat a variety of ailments.
Jalaludeen was buried Thursday at the Muhiyadeen Jummah Mosque in Gintota, Galle. Surprisingly, the family decided not to request a post-mortem
examination.
RIP Brother/Friend.. u alwys remain in our Hearts..
article : http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/05/23/medical-misconduct-kills-student/
