The family of a 28-year-old pregnant woman who died at the public hospital in Arta, after an allergic shock has filed a lawsuit against all responsible parties and requested for the exhumation of the young woman for autopsy and toxicological tests.
The pregnant woman suffered an allergic shock after she was administered antibiotics. As the death certificate issued by the hospital wrote “allergic shock” as cause of death, no autopsy was ordered and she was buried hours later on Monday afternoon, September 29.
The woman, a mother of a 2-year-old child, and 6 weeks pregnant in her second one, had visited the emergency unit of the hospital in western Greece late on Sunday night. She had pain and bleeding, symptoms of a threatened miscarriage.
She was injected antibiotics and soon she developed symptoms of allergic shock. Present in the maternity unit was a nurse and a resident but no gynecologist. An intensivist was quickly called in from the ICU next door and they all tried to help the woman. They intubated her, took her to ICU, however, she suffered two cardiac arrests and she died early on Monday morning.
Citing sources for the hospital media reported that everything was done “by the book”: e.g. the pregnant woman was previously asked whether she had allergies – which she denied – that the personnel intervention was immediate and adrenaline was administered quickly.
On Friday morning, the family’s lawyer announced that the family filed a lawsuit with the legal claim concerning “homicide committed by omission.” He also pointed out at the staff shortages at the hospital, possible failures in management, and lack of clarity about the treatment administered.
“We don’t know which antibiotic was given. An internal investigation was ordered, but not an autopsy. All we have is a death certificate,” the lawyer said.
Confusion over the antibiotics used
According to the family’s lawyer, there was disagreement among doctors about which antibiotic to administer. One warned that the chosen drug could trigger cardiac arrest, while another insisted it was standard practice, tovima reported.
The antibiotics were reportedly given by a nurse following a doctor’s instructions over the phone. Before that, the woman had been given pain relief medication, raising questions about whether there was a dangerous interaction between the two drugs.
Collapse and failed resuscitation
The woman quickly went into anaphylactic shock. Doctors attempted resuscitation and intubation, but her condition worsened. Despite efforts in intensive care, she died within hours.
The hospital’s administration has launched an internal inquiry, while the family insists on a full investigation into the circumstances of her hospitalization and whether doctors reacted promptly when she first showed signs of allergic shock.
A doctor suggested on Mega TV Live News, that antibiotics injections can act differently depending on whether they’re administered directly to the vene or together with IV.
Another question is why there was not doctor on duty in the unit.
Many questions and details of the medical intervention remain open is expected that an internal investigation of the hospital management will shed light in the issue.
Critics raise questions about the personnel levels and point out to possible gaps in medical coverage.
An inexperienced nurse, an absent doctor and a non-existent administration killed two lives” the lawyer of the family of the 28-year-old woman.
“We expect the order of the exhumation within the day and the conduct of an autopsy and toxicology tests,” she added.
Friday afternoon, the prosecutor gave the order. The exhumation will take place on Saturday morning.
It is the second time in a few months, that a patient dies in a public hospital due to “overworked personnel” to say it polite.
PS With “austerity” measures ongoing by the industrious Health Minister and no recruitment of doctors, patients in public hospitals see more and more residents in Emergencies and in Clinics of public hospitals – especially in the summer months when doctors get their holidays -, and nursing school students getting a contacts as “assistant nurses.”
You don’t want to have details on what’s happening, do you?
BTW: everybody knows that today you have no allergy to X but you can have 3X later.
A famous French actor died last year of anaphylactic shock in a french hospital after being injected with a contrast agent for an MRI scan… I myself had an MRI scan at Syros Hospital. The nurse asked me if I was allergic to the product, I told him I didn’t know, and he gave me the injection… luckily, I’m not allergic to it. It’s a bit like Russian roulette…
An alergic reaction may not be to the active ingredient itself but to some other chemical also present in the medication. Many medications, which are out of copyright, are manufactured by several pharmaceutical companies. While the active ingredient should be the same in all of them the other ingredients may not be. As a simple example, in the case of an injection, the material used to seal the phial may vary between manufacturers. Small amounts of that material might be transferred to the patient by the injection needle. One company’s product does not cause a reaction while another company’s does.