Committee report says hospital deaths caused by Anaphylactic Shock

COLOMBO (News 1st); The committee appointed by Sri Lanka's Health Minister to investigate recent deaths in Government Hospitals presented its final report to the Ministry on Tuesday (8).

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella posted on X, formerly known as twitter, that due to Doctor-Patient confidentiality, the full report will NOT be disclosed.

The report notes that out of the six cases analysed in detail by the committee, five met the criteria of anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock.

It notes that among the five patients who had anaphylaxis, the casualty assessment using WHO-UMC casualty assessment criteria, categorised four ADRs or Adverse drug reactions as likely due to the suspected drugs.

However, the report noted that comprehensive quality testing reports of the suspected drugs were not available at the time of the report.

Sri Lanka’s Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella appointed a five-member committee to conduct a full investigation into recent deaths in government hospitals in July 2023.

In recent months, several deaths were reported in Sri Lanka’s government hospitals. They were allegedly caused by substandard medicine.

The committee, headed by Chandima Jeewandara of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, comprised experts with extensive knowledge and understanding of medicine, nursing, and allergies.

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella noted that he was awaiting results of quality test of the reported drug after thorough, independent exam by NDQL, a laboratory under the NMRA.

He said he discussed with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to set up a World Health Organization funded 'Benchmark 4' lab - to qualitatively expedite such queries.