Patients with botulinum poisoning will be given BAT antidote. However, this drug is currently out of stock in Vietnam. The last 5 vials of BAT antidote were used by Cho Ray Hospital: 3 vials to save patients poisoned by fermented salted carp at the Northern Quang Nam Regional General Hospital, and 2 vials to save 3 children who were poisoned by botulinum toxin after eating Vietnamese pork sausage recently.
According to Dr. Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases at Cho Ray Hospital, the shortage of BAT, the specific antidote for botulinum poisoning, is a very unfortunate issue for patients and a difficult problem for treating doctors. In cases of botulinum poisoning, if BAT antidote is used early, patients can recover from paralysis within 48 to 72 hours and avoid the need for mechanical ventilation.
Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent (BAT) helps counteract the toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
Alternatively, if mechanical ventilation is started 1-2 days after botulism poisoning and BAT is used, the patient can recover within 5 to 7 days and can be weaned off the ventilator, begin physical therapy, and return to normal life.
"However, in the absence of a BAT antidote, we must provide supportive treatment. Supportive treatment mainly involves nutrition and mechanical ventilation, because botulinum toxin damages the nervous system, leading to muscle paralysis. When muscles are paralyzed, breathing becomes impossible. The duration of mechanical ventilation can average from 3 to 6 months," Dr. Hung explained.
Dr. Hung added: "Normally, we have natural airways that act as a protective barrier for the lungs, but when a tube is inserted directly into the lungs via a ventilator, these natural protective mechanisms are disrupted. As a result, the risk of secondary infections is very high."
On May 20th, information from Cho Ray Hospital indicated that the hospital, along with Gia Dinh People's Hospital and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (Ho Chi Minh City), had consulted and identified three more suspected cases of botulinum poisoning. All three patients are from Thu Duc City (Ho Chi Minh City), including two brothers aged 18 and 26, and a 45-year-old man.
According to the medical history, the two brothers had previously eaten Vietnamese pork sausage sandwiches, and the man had eaten fermented fish sauce that had been left out for a long time. Test results from Gia Dinh People's Hospital showed that the patients were infected with botulinum toxin originating from food. However, the antidote for BAT is currently depleted, so the treatment plan for the three patients is mainly supportive care, including nutrition and mechanical ventilation.
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