Multan patient, 30 others test positive for HIV at Nishtar Hospital’s dialysis unit
One patient has died in Nishtar Hospital Multan, while 30 others have contracted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections during dialysis treatment at the medical centre.
Dawn’s Asif Chaudhary has reported on the negligence in the largest public sector hospital in South Punjab, where these patients were reportedly put on three dialysis machines meant for HIV-positive patients.
The report quotes an official privy to the information who claimed that the patient who breathed his last of HIV/AIDs complications was identified as Shahnawaz (40). He was under treatment at the nephrology department of the hospital where the doctors contacted the institute’s top management to refer him to the isolation ward for immediate care soon after he tested positive for HIV/AIDs after the completion of a dialysis session.
However, Dawn’s source claims that the administration rejected the requests of the treating doctors, stating that the isolation wards were assigned for the patients suffering from infectious diseases like dengue.
The patient is suspected to have contracted the virus from the dialysis machines meant for HIV-positive patients. He died of HIV-related complications on Tuesday.
Panic spread among the doctors, nurses and other employees of the nephrology department when news broke out that HIV/AIDS infections were transmitted to 30 other patients.
It is the highest number of patients that got infected in a government hospital in one go.
The diagnosis of such a large number of HIV-infected patients has put doctors, nurses and other staff members of the nephrology department at risk as they have been in contact with the infected patients during the treatment process.
The matter was originally reported on October 26, but the head of the nephrology unit, who is also the Registrar of Nishtar Medical University (NMU) Professor Ghulam Abbas, hushed the matter along with other high officials.
Admission and treatment records of all the infected patients were confiscated.
However, the matter surfaced in the news after the patient died, which eventually prompted the hospital’s management to launch an investigation.
The matter has been termed the worst case of negligence and blatant violation of the standard operating procedures, which clearly define patient management and treatment of those coming for dialysis.
There are three designated dialysis machines for HIV/AIDS at Nishtar, along with one for Hepatitis B patients at the nephrology unit.
The onus of responsibility lies on the head of the nephrology department and other medics to make sure that the dialysis machines are safe for the patients and that SOPs of screening have been followed before hooking up the patient to dialysis machines, the source told Dawn.
NMU Vice Chancellor Prof Mehnaz Khakwani told Dawn that a committee of senior medical teachers and admin officers have been constituted to launch a probe into the incident.
Findings of the probe are awaited to proceed further with the case.