Chinese hospital injects expired medication into boy, 1, suffering from pneumonia
A hospital in a northwestern China mistakenly injected expired medication into a toddler who was suffering from pneumonia, mainland media reports.
The one-year-old boy developed red spots on his skin – initially believed to be mosquito bites – after receiving the transfusion of saline fluid earlier this month as a result of the negligence of the nurse on duty, the Huashang Daily reported.
The child, who remains in a stable condition, had been admitted to Pucheng county’s maternal and child care hospital in Shaanxi province on October 11 where he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
After he was placed on a drip the next day, his father discovered that the saline fluid he was being given was past its expiry date.
An official at the hospital told the newspaper it had sent the child to a larger hospital in Xian where he was given a medical check-up after the accident.
It would also sign a note promising that its medical staff would keep a careful watch on the child’s health in future.
“The child is getting better from pneumonia,” the official said.
“Two red spots developed on his face, which the hospital’s chief suspected were bites by mosquitoes.”
He said the child had been given the transfusion with saline that had expired only in late September.
This had been the only expired bag of saline given to its patients, the official added.
The hospital regularly checked all of its medication and disposed of those that had expired once every six months, a second hospital official said. An additional check was carried out in each department every two months, the second official said.
The boy’s relatives told the newspaper he was in a stable condition, but it is unclear whether they will take further action against the hospital.
