‘Short’ prescription brings fatal results

Jayantha de Silva

A 62-year-old patient who had been allegedly prescribed with a wrong drug by a government physician who also has a private practice, faced acute drug poisoning which led to her death.

The physician had shortened the name of a drug which misled the dispenser to issue a different drug, a Coroners inquest was told yesterday. The wrong intake had made her skin and body hair to easily fall off, an autopsy revealed.

Horana Magistrate M.P. Ranasinghe ordered an inquest into the death of Tantrige Don Pathmalatha (62), a resident of Horana.

City Coroner Edward Ahangama told the Daily News that he would inform the medical misadventure to the Sri Lanka Medical Council.(SLMC). At the inquest, the physician attached to the Horana Base Hospital, being showed by the Coroner the slip in which he had prescribed the drug for the diabetes patient, admitted that the “pressure of work had made him write the name with some letters missing.” “I have given a statement to the police,” he said.

Priyanka Nilmini, the Dispenser who issued the drug said that the prescription appeared to be written as ‘Metho’ which led her to issue a different drug other than ‘Metformin’ the prescribed drug.

Dr. M.N. Rahul Haq of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, who held the post post mortem, attributed the death to acute Methotrexate poisoning, resulting in a heart failure in the left side. PS 56891 I.D.Herath led evidence. PC 81013 I.G.S.K. Ilangasinghe assisted in the inquest. Further inquiry was put off for December 21.