Do We have Options?

Excerpt from The Star, May 8, 2009


Friday May 8, 2009
No wrongdoing in death of boy, says KL Hospital


KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) said an internal inquiry had ruled out the allegation made by the family of the late P. Thirishan Raaj that the seven-year-old boy died after being given a prescription overdose by a government doctor.

Its director Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain, who chaired the inquiry with a panel of senior experts, said in a statement yesterday that based on the symptoms presented, clinical findings and investigation results, the allegation of paracetamol overdose could not be substantiated.

“The laboratory investigations for liver function test showed no evidence of liver injury due to paracetamol overdose,” she said.

The family made the allegation in a newspaper report on April 30, and his grandfather Datuk N. Muneandy claimed that the boy was taken to the government clinic after coming down with fever on April 24 but on taking his medicine three times, he became weak and dizzy.

Muneandy further claimed that his grandson was taken to a private clinic on April 25 but went into a coma the same evening before being pronounced dead at KLH on April 29.

Dr Zaininah said the clinical findings and investigation results revealed that the child’s weight was approximately 20kg and he had ingested 2gm (2,000mg) of paracetamol, and according to the British National Formulary March 2008 Edition, as little as 150mg/kg of paracetamol taken within 24 hours may cause severe hepatocellular necrosis.

“Therefore the ingested dose of 2gm of paracetamol would not cause lethal toxicity,” she said.

Touching on the family’s claim that Thirishan Raaj’s medical report had gone missing, Dr Zaininah said the patient’s medical record was being kept in safe custody by the hospital authority in the event of medico-legal activity.– Bernama