4-year-old Hong Kong girl’s ‘rare’ cardiac arrest after receiving stitches sparks hospital probe
- Senior hospital official wants to look into ‘all procedures’ after girl was treated for a head injury sustained in a fall
- The child fell unconscious and her heart stopped soon after seeing a doctor and receiving three stitches at Yan Chai Hospital on Saturday
Medical experts are looking into what caused a four-year-old girl to suffer a cardiac arrest after she received stitches for a head wound, Hong Kong hospital authorities have said.
Dr Desmond Nguyen, deputising chief executive of Kowloon West hospitals, described the incident as “rare” but said he had asked medical experts to find out why the girl fell unconscious and why her heart stopped after Saturday’s procedure, leaving her in a critical condition.
“We have arranged medical and accidents and emergency specialists to examine all procedures in the incident,” he said on Tuesday.
“At the same time, we will try to understand the four-year-old’s condition from multiple aspects, including underlying diseases that could have caused or are relevant to the cardiac arrest.”
Dr Ian Cheung, chief executive of Yan Chai Hospital, where the girl was treated for the head wound sustained from a fall at home, said “no procedural error has been identified yet”.
Cheung said the girl was first brought to the hospital on Saturday evening with a 2cm cut at the back of her head and a slight fever.