Sealing drugs, clarifying the case of a 3-year-old girl who died after anesthesia in Nghe An

On the afternoon of October 11, Nghe An Department of Health said it had received a report from Anh Son District Medical Center about a medical incident that caused the death of a 3-year-old girl.

According to this report, on October 8, Nguyen Thi Bao T. (residing in Anh Son town) came to the Department of Surgery with a diagnosis of atrial septal defect and was hospitalized to await surgery.

Before surgery, the child's tests were within normal limits. Ear, nose and throat endoscopy showed 2 atrial septal fistulas. The patient was given prophylactic antibiotics before surgery.

On the morning of October 10, the ENT specialists and the Anesthesia and Resuscitation Department re-examined the child and determined that he was fit for surgery. At 10:15 a.m. on October 10, the child was taken to the operating room. At 10:50 a.m., anesthesia was administered and endotracheal intubation was performed.
On the morning of October 10, the patient was taken to the operating room. At 10:50 am, the doctor performed anesthesia and intubation. However, after 5 minutes of surgery, the patient showed signs of anaphylactic shock.

During surgery at Anh Son District Medical Center, the patient showed signs of anaphylactic shock.

"The doctors had to stop the surgery, turn off the anesthesia gas to resuscitate. 10 minutes later, the patient still showed signs of circulatory arrest, the doctors had to perform CPR, vital signs: Pulse increased to 120 beats/minute maintained with Adrenaline, Noradrenaline, maintained respiration through Ambu bag", the report of Anh Son District Medical Center stated.

The medical center explained to the family and completed the transfer procedures. During the transfer, the patient continued to be resuscitated by the accompanying doctors. However, the girl later passed away.

Immediately after the incident, Anh Son District Medical Center held a professional council meeting and concluded that the patient suffered anaphylactic shock, suspected to be caused by anesthesia. Currently, the authorities have sealed the drugs and surgical supplies to continue to clarify the incident.

However, the report of Anh Son District Medical Center has not mentioned whether the patient died on the way or died at the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Before that, right after the incident, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - Director of Anh Son District Medical Center confirmed to Nghe An Newspaper reporter that the child patient did not die on the way but was transferred to a higher level before dying. Meanwhile, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital said that when receiving the patient, he had already died.