An antibiotic drug reaction has taken three lives and left 16 patients ill at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ongole in Andhra Pradesh, according to media reports.
A total of 19 women were administered a dose of Ceftriaxone, via an injection, on Friday evening and soon started developing severe reactions to the drug.
After the incident, officials have said that Ceftriaxone is the most preferred antibiotic of Penicillin group. The drug can have a giving mild reaction, but in rare cases.
Dr Appalanaidu, resident medical officer (RMO), RIMS told The New Indian Express:
“After they showed negative reactions, we administered an antidote to all 19, moved seven to our intensive care unit (ICU) and sent three to King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam as their health was deteriorating rapidly. Ten continue to be treated at the women’s ward as their condition is improving,” he added.
The report says E Sailaja (24) from Kasipuram village and S Anitha (38), from Palasa passed away on Saturday morning. And Vadada Durgamma (51), a resident of Kuppili village died while undergoing treatment at KGH late Saturday night.
Hospital authorities have said that though Ceftriaxone was administered to people in other wards on the same day, none of them showed any reactions.
The batch of medicine which was manufactured in March this year is usable till February 2020.
Following the directions of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Principal Secretary of Health, officials from Directorate of Medical Education and the Drug Control chaired an emergency meeting on Sunday. An inquiry into the incident has been ordered and pharmacology vigilance officials in Delhi were informed about the same.
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