Days after 28 women fell ill when they were given the same medicine at Bhabha hospital, women at Ghatkopar hospital got headaches and mild chills
Within a week of 28 female patients at Bhabha Hospital, Kurla, developing adverse reactions after being administered antibiotics for monsoon-related ailments, ten female patients at Ghatkopar’s Rajawadi Hospital suffered allergic reactions to the same drugs.
Also read: 28 women fall ill in Mumbai hospital after being given 'routine' injections
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Khushboo Qureshi, one of the ten patients who experienced mild chills and headaches
The drugs Cefotaxime and Ceftriaxone are generally prescribed for monsoon-related ailments. The ten women developed headaches and mild chills after being administered doses of these two medicines around 11.30 pm on Thursday.
Khushboo Qureshi (15), one of the patients recuperating from fever in the ward, said, “I got a headache and started shivering shortly after the medicines were given to me. I noticed there were many other women in the ward who also started shivering all of a sudden.”
Doctors at the hospital said the mild chills lasted only for a few minutes, but that they are being extra cautious after one of the 28 affected patients at Bhabha Hospital died earlier this week in the ICU of KEM Hospital, where she had been shifted after her allergic reaction.
“Most of the patients were being treated for viral fever; one was a gastroenteritis patient. Shortly after the dose was administered to them, they had mild chills. Their condition is now stable and, luckily, they faced no further complications. We’re just being cautious and have informed the FDA about the incident,” said Dr Vidya Thakur, medical superintendent of the hospital.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has collected two batches of the medicines, one of which was supplied by the civic body, and another by a private firm, for further testing. The BMC has also appointed a three-member panel of doctors to inquire into the incident at Bhabha Hospital. Hospital authorities have decided not to administer the drugs any more to patients.
Deceased had dengue
Saira Sheikh (47), the sole patient who died after suffering allergic reactions after consuming the two drugs at Bhabha Hospital, had dengue, tests revealed. A test done by her relatives at a private lab had showed she had typhoid. However, PCR tests indicated dengue.
Dr Vidya Thakur, who is looking into these reaction cases, said, “We are awaiting the post-mortem report, which will determine the exact cause of death. But, the PCR test revealed she was suffering from dengue, due to which she had low platelet counts. She was admitted in the Kurla hospital barely for 30 hours.” Sheikh had been admitted to Bhabha Hospital on August 15 with high fever.
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