Medical news on July 16: Warning of death due to drinking decoction from tree roots
The Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital has just received patient TTT (46 years old, Ha Tinh) transferred from Ha Tinh General Hospital in a state of deep coma and circulatory arrest.
Death from drinking decoction from tree roots to cure insomnia
Doctors at the Poison Control Center performed aggressive treatment, but the patient did not survive.
According to the medical history, at 6:30 a.m. on July 4, the patient drank about 500-600ml of decoction from dried roots. The roots used are said to be the roots of the tamarind tree, which are used to treat headaches and chronic insomnia. They are dug up in the forest and are often used by people as a decoction.
Ten minutes after taking the medicine, the patient's mouth became distorted and he felt tired, but he did not respond to calls. The patient was taken to the commune health station, then transferred to the district hospital. During the journey, which lasted about 15 minutes, the patient's consciousness gradually decreased, and he did not respond to calls.
At the district hospital, the patient was treated with an endotracheal tube, intravenous fluids, and transferred to Ha Tinh General Hospital. During the journey, which lasted more than 1 hour, the patient turned cyanotic.
At Ha Tinh General Hospital, the patient was in a state of cardiac arrest and had to be treated with emergency care. After 15 minutes, the pulse returned.
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| The patient received emergency care and intensive treatment but did not survive. |
However, the circulatory arrest continued to occur afterwards. On the same day, the patient was transferred to the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital in a state of deep coma, respiratory failure, and cardiovascular collapse.
Doctors at the Poison Control Center suspected that the patient was poisoned by the plant and collected a sample of the patient's decoction of the plant's roots for testing.
Test results from the National Institute for Food Safety Control found koumine and gelsemine toxins, which are both toxins in the aconite plant.
According to the patient's family, three other people drank the decoction from the tree root with Ms. T. These three people drank it the night before and then showed symptoms of dizziness and fatigue.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital, said: The aconite plant and the codonopsis plant have similar shapes, so they are easily confused. Digging a root from the ground in a forest where many trees grow intertwined, it is entirely possible to mistakenly take the root of another plant. The Poison Control Center has previously encountered similar cases of people accidentally drinking the roots of the aconite plant, or committing suicide by eating aconite.
Experts recommend that the aconite plant is easily confused with medicinal plants and wild vegetables, and carries a high risk of poisoning if eaten, so it should be removed from living areas.
People should not arbitrarily go into the forest to dig up tree roots or pick forest leaves for use, as it is easy to confuse them with the poison ivy plant.
If people are sick, they should go to medical facilities or hospitals. If they want to use traditional medicine, they should also go directly to licensed medical facilities or be examined by certified, registered, and licensed physicians to avoid bringing disaster upon themselves.
Hanoi: Administrative penalties for many medical and pharmaceutical companies
The Hanoi Department of Health Inspectorate has just issued a decision to administratively sanction Hung Viet Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company for violating the regulation of cosmetics production without being granted a certificate of eligibility for cosmetics production.
Hung Viet Investment & Trading Joint Stock Company, address No. 19, Lane 193/15 Cau Coc Street, Hanh Residential Group, Tay Mo Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, committed a violation of cosmetic production without being granted a certificate of eligibility for cosmetic production.
Trading in goods with labels that do not contain sufficient or correct information required on the product label. For these violations, Hung Viet Investment & Trading Joint Stock Company was administratively fined nearly 91 million VND.
The Hanoi Department of Health Inspectorate also imposed a fine of 7.5 million VND for failing to submit a request for periodic assessment of maintaining compliance with good retail drug practices as prescribed by law. Khanh Huyen pharmacy in Thai Phu, Mai Dinh commune, Soc Son district was fined 7.5 million VND for administrative violations.
For the same mistake of not keeping documents and papers related to the drug batch within the time limit required by law, 3 pharmaceutical companies were fined 15 million VND, including Golden Key Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company, address 28, lane 211, group 43, Khuong Trung ward, Thanh Xuan district; TH Pharma Pharmaceutical Trading Company Limited, number 17, group 68, residential area 14, Tan Mai street, Tuong Mai ward, Hoang Mai district, Phu An Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Company Limited, address 55 Tan Xuan, Xuan Dinh ward, Bac Tu Liem district.
Committing the same mistake as the three pharmaceutical companies mentioned above and also not posting wholesale prices at the drug sales location of the pharmaceutical business, Kim Long Pharmaceutical and Trading Joint Stock Company, address 33, lane 132 Hoa Bang, group 9, Yen Hoa ward, Cau Giay district, was fined 19 million VND.
In the field of food safety, Hanoi Clean Water Production Company Limited, Hamlet 2 La Tinh, Dong La Commune, Hoai Duc District was fined 4 million VND for using people in direct contact with food without wearing full protective gear as prescribed.
Ba Mien Production, Trade and Service Company Limited, Thuong Hamlet, Uy No Commune, Dong Anh District was fined 12 million VND because the bottled water filling area was not sealed.
Happy Food Catering Company Limited in Lot 4, Quang Minh Industrial Park, Me Linh District was fined 32 million VND because the processing, trading and storage area had insects and harmful animals; did not ensure cross-contamination prevention between unprocessed and processed food in the kitchen layout; the kitchen drainage ditch was not covered; and did not comply with the law on the 3-step food inspection regime and food sample storage.
Goldsengsu Han Viet Production Joint Stock Company in Muc Uyen 2 village, Tan Xa commune, Thach That district was fined 37 million VND for violations: walls, ceilings, floors in production, business areas, and storage warehouses were leaking, cracked, moldy, and the food production process did not follow the one-way principle from input materials to final products.
Lao Cai: Information on suspected case of diphtheria
Lao Cai Department of Health has just announced a case of a patient suspected of having diphtheria.
On July 12, 2024, Bao Thang District General Hospital, Lao Cai province received 01 patient with the following symptoms: fever, severe cough; tongue, palate, and oral cavity with many white-yellow patches; lungs with rales; enlarged liver and spleen, preliminary diagnosis: pneumonia, abdominal pain, suspected of having diphtheria.
Patient MTV, born in 1969, female, residing in Ban 2 Nhai Tho, Kim Son commune, Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province. The patient has had symptoms of cough and diarrhea since Lunar New Year 2024 until now, and has been to the hospital for examination and treatment many times.
On July 10, 2024, the patient had a bad cough, coughed up phlegm, had a sore throat and diarrhea. On July 12, 2024, the patient had a high fever of 390C, many pseudomembranes appeared in the oral cavity, and was taken by his family to Bao Thang District General Hospital for examination and treatment.
Paraclinical results at the hospital showed that the patient was positive for Yeast and Filamentous Fungi (sample taken from pseudomembranous plaque), X-ray and ultrasound showed no abnormalities.
However, because the patient had fever, cough, and pseudomembrane, the Hospital coordinated with Bao Thang District Medical Center to report the case to the Center for Disease Control and the Department of Health, and took samples to send to the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for testing with diphtheria. At the same time, Bao Thang District Medical Center coordinated with Bao Yen District Medical Center to investigate the epidemiology of the case and cases in contact with the patient.
Epidemiological investigation results: due to long-term illness, the patient did not travel far from the locality, and did not come into contact with people suspected of being infected with/infected with diphtheria. Preliminary investigation found 23 people in close contact with the patient, including 12 medical staff and 11 family members. Currently, those in close contact with the patient are in normal health and are continuing to be monitored.
Lao Cai Center for Disease Control determined: the patient has a low risk of being infected with Diphtheria; has a predisposition to fungal infections and other opportunistic infections (the sample taken from the oral cavity at the location of the pseudomembranous plaque was positive for Yeast and Filamentous Fungi). However, given the development of the Diphtheria situation nationwide, early prevention and control is still needed.
The patient is currently being isolated and treated at the Infectious Diseases Department, Bao Thang District General Hospital. Medical units continue to investigate people who have been in close contact with the patient and assess the risk of diphtheria in Kim Son commune. The Center for Disease Control will immediately inform relevant units and people when the patient's test results are available.
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