HYDERABAD: Two infants died and 25 others were admitted to Niloufer Hospital here in a critical condition after the staff of Nampally Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) here allegedly gave the wrong medicine — tramadol instead of paracetamol — after vaccination. The alleged mistake took place because of the similar packaging on the two drugs available at the health centre.
The staff at the UPHC mistook one for the other and gave it to the parents of the kids for use at home after vaccination. Two of the 25 infants admitted at the hospital were in critical condition, a release by the office of District Medical and Health Officer said. They were put on ventilator support. On Wednesday, as many as 92 infants were immunised with the pentavalent vaccine at the Nampally UPHC.
Dr Murali Krishna, superintendent of Niloufer Hospital, said that as per norm, children are to be given one-fourth of a paracetamol tablet to prevent fever after they are administered the pentavalent vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B.
However, the staff at the Nampally health centre gave the babies’ parents tramadol instead. Tramadol is an opioid pain killer that can cause sedation even in adults and is given only in cases of extreme pain for adults. After the parents administered them tramadol, the children began to develop complications. Around 27 infants were brought to Niloufer Hospital during the wee hours on Thursday.
The one infant who died was identified as Sheikh Faizan, who was two months old. The grief-stricken parents demanded stern action against those responsible for the tragedy. “Parents who cannot afford to go to private hospitals go to government hospitals. If they are so careless with medicines, where are we supposed to go?’’ laments D Harikrishna, father of a 4-month-old, who was admitted to Niloufer hospital.
Why was tramadol available in UPHC?
Tramadol is a last-resort potent pain killer, prescribed at UPHC, which usually deals with patients not requiring tertiary healthcare support. A senior paediatrician at Niloufer Hospital told TNIE that the Nampally UPHC runs a specialty health clinic, which is why it must have had tramadol, a drug that was declared a psychotropic substance last year, and was brought under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The distribution of tramadol by Nampally UPHC among parents, confusing it for paracetamol also raises question over the UPHC’s accountability. As tramadol is listed under the NDPS act, its procurement, sale and prescription details have to be maintained.