First aid, too late: KU student’s sudden death casts doubts on hospital treatment
Doctors failed to diagnose he was having a heart attack considering his young age
Doctors failed to diagnose he was having a heart attack considering his young age
KARACHI:
A student of the University of Karachi (KU) died on Wednesday evening apparently due to the failure of the doctors to figure out he was having a heart attack.
Sajid Muhib, 25, was a student in the economics department and was sitting outside his classroom at around 4:30pm when, his friends said, he complained of searing pain below his ribs. "I was sitting at a short distance from him," said one of Muhib's friends, Zohaib. "He crawled all the way to me and lied down in front of me, complaining of pain below his chest."
Zohaib recalled that Muhib was sweating profusely and had turned pale. "His body temperature was dropping rapidly," he said, adding that they immediately asked a friend to bring his car and rushed to Rajput Hospital on Abul Isphahani Road.
Muhib was able to walk inside the hospital where he was given four injections through a drop. After an hour-long treatment in which his condition did not improve, the friends decided to move him to Patel Hospital, which is a larger health facility in the same area. "I repeatedly asked the doctor on duty if he should be shifted to another facility considering his condition was not stable," said Zohaib, adding that he was told that any other hospital will provide the same treatment.
According to Zohaib, the doctor at Rajput Hospital discharged Muhib after treating him for gastroenteritis and advised him to rest for three days.
Meanwhile, Dr Seema of Rajput Hospital, who attended to Muhib, insisted she never discharged him. "I asked his friends to take him to a hospital with better facilities," she said. She did, however, admit that they gave him medication for gastroenteritis. Given his young age, they did not consider the possibility of a heart attack.
"His blood pressure was between 70 and 100," she said, adding that his body temperature was also quite low. The hospital nurse claimed they did not conduct an electrocardiogram (ECG) as the hospital did not have the facility.
Muhib's friends rushed him to Patel Hospital, where was an admitted into the emergency intensive care unit. "His ECG was conducted and it was not normal," claimed Zohaib. "He was then given oxygen and electric shocks but, after half-an-hour of treatment, the doctors pronounced him dead." The cause of death, according to the Patel Hospital's death certificate, is a heart attack.
According to Dr Nazia of Patel Hospital, Muhib was sweating and his blood pressure was very low when he was brought in. "We immediately took his ECG that too showed changes," she said. "With four senior consultants, we tried to save his life but death was his fate." However, Dr Nazia was of the opinion that he may have survived had he been diagnosed earlier.
A heart attack at such a young age is very rare, she admitted, adding that this may be the reason why the initial doctors failed to determine the actual cause of his chest pain.
Muhib was the youngest of four elder sisters and a brother. His friends claimed they will protest the negligence at every forum. "If the hospital is found guilty of negligence, they should be tried," said Zohaib.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2015.
A student of the University of Karachi (KU) died on Wednesday evening apparently due to the failure of the doctors to figure out he was having a heart attack.
Sajid Muhib, 25, was a student in the economics department and was sitting outside his classroom at around 4:30pm when, his friends said, he complained of searing pain below his ribs. "I was sitting at a short distance from him," said one of Muhib's friends, Zohaib. "He crawled all the way to me and lied down in front of me, complaining of pain below his chest."
Zohaib recalled that Muhib was sweating profusely and had turned pale. "His body temperature was dropping rapidly," he said, adding that they immediately asked a friend to bring his car and rushed to Rajput Hospital on Abul Isphahani Road.
Muhib was able to walk inside the hospital where he was given four injections through a drop. After an hour-long treatment in which his condition did not improve, the friends decided to move him to Patel Hospital, which is a larger health facility in the same area. "I repeatedly asked the doctor on duty if he should be shifted to another facility considering his condition was not stable," said Zohaib, adding that he was told that any other hospital will provide the same treatment.
According to Zohaib, the doctor at Rajput Hospital discharged Muhib after treating him for gastroenteritis and advised him to rest for three days.
Meanwhile, Dr Seema of Rajput Hospital, who attended to Muhib, insisted she never discharged him. "I asked his friends to take him to a hospital with better facilities," she said. She did, however, admit that they gave him medication for gastroenteritis. Given his young age, they did not consider the possibility of a heart attack.
"His blood pressure was between 70 and 100," she said, adding that his body temperature was also quite low. The hospital nurse claimed they did not conduct an electrocardiogram (ECG) as the hospital did not have the facility.
Muhib's friends rushed him to Patel Hospital, where was an admitted into the emergency intensive care unit. "His ECG was conducted and it was not normal," claimed Zohaib. "He was then given oxygen and electric shocks but, after half-an-hour of treatment, the doctors pronounced him dead." The cause of death, according to the Patel Hospital's death certificate, is a heart attack.
According to Dr Nazia of Patel Hospital, Muhib was sweating and his blood pressure was very low when he was brought in. "We immediately took his ECG that too showed changes," she said. "With four senior consultants, we tried to save his life but death was his fate." However, Dr Nazia was of the opinion that he may have survived had he been diagnosed earlier.
A heart attack at such a young age is very rare, she admitted, adding that this may be the reason why the initial doctors failed to determine the actual cause of his chest pain.
Muhib was the youngest of four elder sisters and a brother. His friends claimed they will protest the negligence at every forum. "If the hospital is found guilty of negligence, they should be tried," said Zohaib.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2015.