Dropping down like flies: Hospital clueless over incident that left 20 unconscious

Sources say gas used as an anaesthetic leaked; spokesperson denies gravity of the situation.

ISLAMABAD:

A potentially life-threatening leakage of gas in an operation theatre (OT) of the Shifa International Hospital on Saturday has the administration in a quandary. They are still not sure how the gas leaked, which left 19 of its staff members and a patient unconscious. 

Operations scheduled in A-3, the surgery floor where the OT is situated, have been shifted to another floor. According to sources in the hospital, three staff nurses, whose blood pressure fell down to a dangerous level, were put on ventilators in the Intensive Care Unit.

Though their blood pressure has since recovered, they are still admitted with multiple complications including muscle weakness and delirium.

Initially, two staff nurses fainted which did not create much alarm in the ward. However, as multiple staff members began to lose consciousness, including two doctors and one patient, an emergency was declared and all affected people were relocated to the medical ward.

Some official sources say that Nitrous Oxide, which is used as an anaesthetic in the OT, leaked.

It is a colourless and odourless gas which if inhaled, can result in shortness of breath, decrease calcium levels in the body and cause tremors and contraction of muscles.

However, hospital spokesperson Azmatullah Quershi said it was a minor incident and did not aggressively threaten the hospital staff. He believed the incident could be attributed to the construction work taking place on the floor above the OT.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2012.