Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 13 December 2024
A shocking case of medical negligence surfaced at G.B. Pant Hospital in Sri Vijaya Puram, where a 21-year-old pregnant woman was issued the wrong medication by the pharmacist at the Female Medicine Counter. The incident came to light on 12th December when Mr. Angshuman Roy, a social worker, brought the matter to public attention.
On 22nd November 2024, the woman obtained medicine prescribed by her doctor from the G.B. Pant Hospital Female Pharmacy Counter. She was prescribed Eltroxin, a medication used to treat hypothyroidism. Instead, she was given Etoricoxib Tablets 90 mg, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) typically used to treat arthritis-related pain and inflammation. Unaware of the error, the pregnant woman consumed the Etoricoxib tablets on an empty stomach over an extended period.
The mistake was discovered only when she visited the PHC Manglutan to replenish her supply. The pharmacy at PHC Manglutan issued her a different medication, prompting her to question the discrepancy. Upon inspection, the medical staff at PHC Manglutan found that the earlier medicine issued to her was incorrect and potentially harmful, advising her of the risks associated with its consumption during pregnancy.
Harmful Effects of Etoricoxib During Pregnancy:
Etoricoxib is known to carry significant risks for pregnant women. NSAIDs like Etoricoxib can cause complications such as delayed labor, premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus, and developmental issues in the fetus. Prolonged consumption, especially on an empty stomach, can also harm the kidneys of both the mother and the baby, potentially leading to fetal renal dysfunction and oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid levels). Kidney damage in the mother could result in long-term health complications, including reduced kidney function and associated risks.
Importance of Eltroxin for Pregnant Women:
Eltroxin, on the other hand, is commonly prescribed to manage hypothyroidism—a condition where the thyroid gland does not produce enough hormones. Adequate thyroid hormone levels are critical during pregnancy, as they play a vital role in the baby’s brain development and overall growth. Failure to address hypothyroidism can lead to complications such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and developmental delays.
A Case of Grave Negligence:
The negligence by the pharmacist at G.B. Pant Hospital in dispensing a completely unrelated and potentially harmful medicine underscores severe lapses in protocol. The error can now lead to catastrophic consequences for the woman and her baby. Mr. Angshuman Roy has demanded strict action against the pharmacist responsible for this grave mistake.
In a statement, Mr. Roy emphasized the need for accountability in public healthcare institutions, stating, “This level of negligence is unacceptable. Immediate measures must be taken to ensure no other patient suffers from such irresponsible actions.”
Note from Nicobar Times:
Nicobar Times has observed potential discrepancies in the strength denotation of the medicine prescribed by the doctor in this case. While the issue is under verification with healthcare experts, it does not justify the fatal mistake of issuing a completely unrelated and harmful medicine to the patient.
This incident highlights the urgent need for stringent checks and balances in public healthcare to prevent such grave errors in the future.
Very serious matter, thanks to God ,no fatal , hazard
Case against the pharmacist should be raised in consumer form for compensation and trail.
Doctors must be advised to write the prescription legibily
Yeah. Just penalize the whole medical system. Make sure there are no doctors, nurses or pharmacists left in the country. Only politicians allowed to treat patients.
It was a very grave mistake on part of the pharmacist indeed but did anybody mark the mistake done by the physician by not following central govt.rules to write down the name of the chemical molecule of the drug in clear BOLD CAPITAL letters? Discrepancy started from the doctor side and continued to the pharmacist end. Both are to be held responsible.Prescriptions written as such should not be dispensed by pharmacies and sent back to the doctor to be corrected.
It is not only the mistake of pharmacist
Doctor and patient are also responsible for this
Doctor should write Prescription in capital later but unfortunately it is not followed in all over the country.
If doctor write it in capital later patient itself can match the priscription with provided medication.
Patient is also responsible for the same because she didn’t cross matched.
Most of the pharmacists keep incompetent staff with them and they are the main culprit.
The prescription script of the doctor may be too dirty to be understood by the pharmacist. So Doctor is equally or more responsible along with pharmacist. Or the pharmacist may be while enjoying in reels of her mobile supplied the drug to the patient. These incidents are 90 percent.
Is the woman blind? Did she not see what medication she is consuming?
There can be a number of reasons for her not being able to detect the error.
Actually as per law doctor should write medicine in capital letters clearly which is not followed in india .
Its a mistake from both ends .
Not the pharmacist but the doctors should be punished who wrote the medicine names in such a way that no one can read it. No mistake from pharmasist if she/he can’t read the spelling properly. The priscription should be shown to the judge and if the judge cannot read it correctly, then punish the doctor.
Having a check of the medicines issued (before delivering to the purchaser) at the pharmacy itself would be ideal.
First of all the doctors should write legibally so that even the patient be able to read. The MCI has already issued sone years ago on the intervention of The higher court’s. The order also says advices to write in capital letters. But the doctors continue to scribble and MCI is quite.
The Eltroxin dosage is written as 50 microgram as I read it. Microgram is represented by the Greek letter Mu here.
There’s nothing wrong in the prescription. Most doctors write like that using the Greek letter Mu which represents Micro. We need not drag the prescribing doctor unnecessarily into this .
Thanks for pointing that out. The prescription by the doctor still is not clear. the Mu symbol looks like a M and Mgm is Milligrams. The prescriptions should indeed be digitised or printed to avoid such misreadings.
Etoricoxib is not a NSAIDS , please do research before publishing.
Mr. Ashish Pandey, the article has been written after through research. The active substance etoricoxib which belongs to a group of medicines called selective COX-2 inhibitors. These belong to a family of medicines called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Majority of the doctors’ prescriptions are not legible and the clearly readable. It should be strictly implemented that prescriptions should be typed/ printed like in USA to avoid misreadings.
Sad that still medical errors of prescription mismatch happens when technology can actually prevent it. The handwritten notes, is clear enough but the error seems to have stemmed in the pharmacy. Computerised prescription, online transmission to the pharmacy, a match testing software billing would have avoided the error.
Print out priscription given by the doctor is better than hand writing. A letter is enough to change the medicine. Well trained pharmacists only managing the counter, avoid internship people to deliver. Otherwise,Request to the doctors write the medicines name clearly
As per guidelines issued by Medical Council of India, doctors must write prescription in CAPITAL letters with molecule name. In this case doctor has written it in a way which is confusing. Also the pharmacist should refuse to dispense the drug if handwriting are confusing.