Caesarean surgeries in Niloufer Hospital may have resumed last week, but the cause of death of five women more than a month ago due to heavy bleeding after giving birth through c-section may remain elusive, despite the State’s efforts to get to the bottom of it.
Blood samples obtained from the deceased women who were operated between January 30 and February 4, blood samples of surviving women who were also operated during the period, swabs from operation theatres, and medication administered to the women after the ill-fated surgeries did not reveal the reason for the deaths, said multiple sources in health administration. The role of surgical errors was also ruled out.
The only lead investigators are now pursuing is the sterility of intravenous fluids administered to the women. Tests at different labs have revealed contradicting results, with one lab claiming intact sterility while casting doubts over the sterility of the drugs.
To resolve the matter, the samples have been sent to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation for final testing.
Latent infections
While the report of investigation, overseen by the Hyderabad Collector, is yet to be submitted to the government, it now transpires that the inquiry may point to latent infections that went undetected before surgery but manifested into heavy bleeding afterwards due to co-morbid conditions, doctors said.
This line of thinking is also partially supported by past dengue infections seen in at least one of the two surviving women who suffered heavy bleeding after the c-section procedure.
Sources admit that only autopsies of the bodies could have thrown light on the exact of cause of death. An overarching condition called Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), which results in severe bleeding, was mentioned in the case sheets, but what precisely led to the DIC is likely to remain elusive, sources confide.
Autopsies can only be conducted if a death becomes a medico-legal matter through a police complaint.
Caesarean surgeries at the hospital resumed in the emergency block, which was inaugurated last November. While the government has sanctioned security and sanitation staff, additional nurses are yet to be sanctioned.
Meanwhile, doctors at Niloufer also started performing paediatric surgeries on Monday.
