32 die of cardiac drugs reaction in Lahore
Amer Malik
Sunday, January 22, 2012
LAHORE: At least 32 patients have died due to a reaction to cardiac drugs they had consumed earlier. The medicine was provided by the govt-run Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC).
Sources told The News that medical experts had suspected five medicines Solprin, Zafnol, Concont, Cardiovascin and Isotab were provided to the cardiac patients registered with the PIC.
They said the patients taking the medicines were brought to hospitals with symptoms of a sudden drop in platelets and white blood cells and bleeding from different body parts. They said initially they took the symptoms as that of dengue.
More than 150 patients are reportedly under treatment in different city hospitals.
According to details collected from different city hospitals on Saturday, cardiac patients Khurshid Bibi, Ahmad Bashir, Gull Hussain, Ijaz, Nawaz, Aslam and Javed died in the Mayo Hospital while Ghulam Murtaza and Muhammad Amin breathed their last in the Services Hospital and Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Lahore.
Sources further said that the Punjab Health Department had ordered the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing and supplying the affected medicines to withdraw all stocks from hospitals and the market. They said the department had also ordered health EDOs and medical superintendents to immediately stop use of medicines and seal stocks and instructed drug inspectors to withdraw medicines from the registered patients.
However, it was learnt that no cardiac patient died of drug reaction at the PIC because its OPD patients were admitted to public and private hospitals close to their localities.
Meanwhile, Punjab Health Secretary Jehanzeb Khan has constituted a high-powered probe committee.
The committee is headed by Principal of the Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital Prof Javed Akram while the other members of the committee are PIC Chief Executive Prof Muhammad Azhar, SIMS Principal Prof Faisal Masood, Prof Irshad Hussain (KEMU), Prof Farzana Chaudhry, Head of Pharmacy Department of University of Veterinary Sciences Lahore, Prof Bashir Ahmad, Head of Pharmacy Department Punjab University, Prof Farkhanda Kokab from Institute of Public Health, Addl Secretary Health (Technical) Dr Muhammad Anwar Janjua, Health Director General Health Dr Zahid Pervaiz, Prof Munazza Qayyum, DG Forensic Science Laboratory, Mufti Abdul Salam, Director, Drug Testing Laboratory, Prof Nosheen of Allama Iqbal Medical College, Dr Mubashir Attique, Chief Chemical Examiner, Prof Tahir Javed, Punjab University, Sheikh Akhtar Hussain, Deputy Director Cabinet Division and Ayyaz Ali, Director Pharmacy, DG Health Office.
The health secretary said that all batches of the medicines at the PIC had been withheld pending completion of inquiry, adding alternate arrangements are being made to provide safe medicines to the registered patients. He appealed to the cardiac patients registered with the PIC to immediately stop use of medicines acquired from the hospital.
Inquiry Committee chairman Prof Javed Akram told media that a Centralized Data Collection Centre had been established to collect data about such patients from all the city hospitals.
Moreover, he said that arrangements were being made to analyse local and foreign cardiac medicines used in the PIC, adding samples of affected drugs have been dispatched for examination to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, Chemical Examiner, Punjab, Organic Chemistry Lab, Punjab University, Lahore, in Pakistan and drug testing laboratories in France and Belgium.
Prof Javed Akram said that a helpline 042-99200688 for the convenience of patients had been established.
32 die of cardiac drugs reaction in Lahore
---------- Post added at 06:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:14 PM ----------
Seven more fall prey to ‘mystery’ disease in Lahore
About two dozen critical patients are being treated at various hospitals of the city. - Photo by AP
LAHORE: A so far undiagnosed disease claimed lives of seven heart patients registered with the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in the last couple of days, hospital sources told Dawn on Friday.
About two dozen critical patients are being treated at various hospitals of the city. City’s major public and private health facilities are receiving PIC patients daily with low platelet and white blood cell counts, dark complexion, black spots on bodies and bleeding.
Of the latest victims, five patients died in three medical units of Mayo Hospital — three at south medical ward and one each at west and east medical wards.
South Medical Ward head Prof Dr Irshadul Haq confirmed five deaths and said all these patients belonging to low-income group were getting medicines from PIC. He said 45 cardiac patients were admitted to four medical units of Mayo Hospital during the last two weeks with the above mentioned symptoms.
Prof Irshad said the number of heart patients attended in emergency and outdoor departments was almost double than those admitted to the hospital. He said doctors could not understand complications of the disease in the first week, but later they suspected it might be reaction of some drugs given by PIC.
Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Prof Javed Akram said a heart patient with above mentioned symptoms died at Jinnah Hospital. He said 29 cardiac patients were admitted to the hospital and 13 of them were in critical condition.
The Punjab government has so far made no serious effort to prevent deaths despite the fact that more than 150 patients are fighting for life at public hospitals of the city alone — 45 at Mayo Hospital, 29 at Jinnah Hospital, 19 at Services Hospital and 11 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
According to sources, the disease has taken lives of 19 patients so far and they are all registered with PIC.
A source said health authorities had directed senior PIC doctors probing the causes of the disease not to fix responsibility on anyone for the spread of the disease.
Seven more fall prey to
Amer Malik
Sunday, January 22, 2012
LAHORE: At least 32 patients have died due to a reaction to cardiac drugs they had consumed earlier. The medicine was provided by the govt-run Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC).
Sources told The News that medical experts had suspected five medicines Solprin, Zafnol, Concont, Cardiovascin and Isotab were provided to the cardiac patients registered with the PIC.
They said the patients taking the medicines were brought to hospitals with symptoms of a sudden drop in platelets and white blood cells and bleeding from different body parts. They said initially they took the symptoms as that of dengue.
More than 150 patients are reportedly under treatment in different city hospitals.
According to details collected from different city hospitals on Saturday, cardiac patients Khurshid Bibi, Ahmad Bashir, Gull Hussain, Ijaz, Nawaz, Aslam and Javed died in the Mayo Hospital while Ghulam Murtaza and Muhammad Amin breathed their last in the Services Hospital and Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Lahore.
Sources further said that the Punjab Health Department had ordered the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing and supplying the affected medicines to withdraw all stocks from hospitals and the market. They said the department had also ordered health EDOs and medical superintendents to immediately stop use of medicines and seal stocks and instructed drug inspectors to withdraw medicines from the registered patients.
However, it was learnt that no cardiac patient died of drug reaction at the PIC because its OPD patients were admitted to public and private hospitals close to their localities.
Meanwhile, Punjab Health Secretary Jehanzeb Khan has constituted a high-powered probe committee.
The committee is headed by Principal of the Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital Prof Javed Akram while the other members of the committee are PIC Chief Executive Prof Muhammad Azhar, SIMS Principal Prof Faisal Masood, Prof Irshad Hussain (KEMU), Prof Farzana Chaudhry, Head of Pharmacy Department of University of Veterinary Sciences Lahore, Prof Bashir Ahmad, Head of Pharmacy Department Punjab University, Prof Farkhanda Kokab from Institute of Public Health, Addl Secretary Health (Technical) Dr Muhammad Anwar Janjua, Health Director General Health Dr Zahid Pervaiz, Prof Munazza Qayyum, DG Forensic Science Laboratory, Mufti Abdul Salam, Director, Drug Testing Laboratory, Prof Nosheen of Allama Iqbal Medical College, Dr Mubashir Attique, Chief Chemical Examiner, Prof Tahir Javed, Punjab University, Sheikh Akhtar Hussain, Deputy Director Cabinet Division and Ayyaz Ali, Director Pharmacy, DG Health Office.
The health secretary said that all batches of the medicines at the PIC had been withheld pending completion of inquiry, adding alternate arrangements are being made to provide safe medicines to the registered patients. He appealed to the cardiac patients registered with the PIC to immediately stop use of medicines acquired from the hospital.
Inquiry Committee chairman Prof Javed Akram told media that a Centralized Data Collection Centre had been established to collect data about such patients from all the city hospitals.
Moreover, he said that arrangements were being made to analyse local and foreign cardiac medicines used in the PIC, adding samples of affected drugs have been dispatched for examination to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, Chemical Examiner, Punjab, Organic Chemistry Lab, Punjab University, Lahore, in Pakistan and drug testing laboratories in France and Belgium.
Prof Javed Akram said that a helpline 042-99200688 for the convenience of patients had been established.
32 die of cardiac drugs reaction in Lahore
---------- Post added at 06:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:14 PM ----------
Seven more fall prey to ‘mystery’ disease in Lahore
About two dozen critical patients are being treated at various hospitals of the city. - Photo by AP
LAHORE: A so far undiagnosed disease claimed lives of seven heart patients registered with the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in the last couple of days, hospital sources told Dawn on Friday.
About two dozen critical patients are being treated at various hospitals of the city. City’s major public and private health facilities are receiving PIC patients daily with low platelet and white blood cell counts, dark complexion, black spots on bodies and bleeding.
Of the latest victims, five patients died in three medical units of Mayo Hospital — three at south medical ward and one each at west and east medical wards.
South Medical Ward head Prof Dr Irshadul Haq confirmed five deaths and said all these patients belonging to low-income group were getting medicines from PIC. He said 45 cardiac patients were admitted to four medical units of Mayo Hospital during the last two weeks with the above mentioned symptoms.
Prof Irshad said the number of heart patients attended in emergency and outdoor departments was almost double than those admitted to the hospital. He said doctors could not understand complications of the disease in the first week, but later they suspected it might be reaction of some drugs given by PIC.
Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Prof Javed Akram said a heart patient with above mentioned symptoms died at Jinnah Hospital. He said 29 cardiac patients were admitted to the hospital and 13 of them were in critical condition.
The Punjab government has so far made no serious effort to prevent deaths despite the fact that more than 150 patients are fighting for life at public hospitals of the city alone — 45 at Mayo Hospital, 29 at Jinnah Hospital, 19 at Services Hospital and 11 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
According to sources, the disease has taken lives of 19 patients so far and they are all registered with PIC.
A source said health authorities had directed senior PIC doctors probing the causes of the disease not to fix responsibility on anyone for the spread of the disease.
Seven more fall prey to
