Cho Ray Hospital informs about suspected poisoning after drinking powdered milk in Tien Giang

On the morning of October 20, Cho Ray Hospital organized a press briefing on a suspected case of poisoning after drinking powdered milk in An Giang province. After 5 days of intensive treatment, the patient's body has been cleared of toxins.

According to Dr. Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, Cho Ray Hospital, this is considered a highly toxic substance, with symptoms occurring extremely quickly after exposure, within no more than 30 minutes.

The patient is Mr. PMT (55 years old, residing in Tien Giang province). Medical history on October 15 shows that the patient mixed 150ml of powdered milk. After drinking 50ml of that mixed milk, he felt dizzy, had a headache, had difficulty breathing, and felt nauseous. Only 5 minutes later, he could not breathe and 15 minutes later he was not aware of his surroundings. After emergency treatment at 2 local hospitals, he was transferred to Cho Ray Hospital that same night.

After receiving the patient, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Sang quickly confirmed that the patient was in level 3 deep anesthesia, respiratory failure, on a ventilator, unstable hemodynamics, very rapid pulse, and a very high risk of death.

After a quick consultation, the Department agreed that this was a case of acute poisoning due to a rapid progression after the patient came into contact with a type of milk. Treatment would be difficult because Mr. T. had underlying liver cirrhosis and high blood pressure.

"That night, our department had to focus all our efforts on putting the patient on a high-flow ventilator, giving him IV fluids, stabilizing his blood pressure, and filtering his blood. The goal of filtering his blood is to remove some of the toxins from his body. After a few hours, the patient showed signs of response and improvement, and we determined that this treatment path was correct," Dr. Sang shared.

Dr. Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, Cho Ray Hospital, said: "The question for us is what kind of toxic substance is this that causes poisoning so quickly, within 30 minutes or less after patients come into contact with it." Dr. Hung wondered.

We can only conclude that this poison is extremely toxic. Doctors suspect a number of toxins such as: cyanide, pesticides, arsenic, strychnine and botulinum.

All of these substances are extremely toxic, causing rapid death after exposure, in many different forms but the common special form is a white, colorless, odorless, tasteless powder. However, the exact toxic substance will be announced by the authorities when the results of previous milk sample tests are available.

After 5 days of intensive treatment, the patient has now had the toxins removed from his body and his vital signs are stable. Today, October 20, the patient will be discharged from the hospital and can return to an almost normal life.

Regarding the treatment costs, Master Le Minh Hien, Head of the Social Work Department, Cho Ray Hospital, said that the hospital fees have been supported by benefactors. The remaining support money and the entire amount that the patient's family had previously advanced will be refunded to the patient.

Previously, on October 14, the patient's mother and younger brother also drank powdered milk (brand unknown) of the same type as the patient and died. The family thought the death was due to illness so they held a funeral without reporting to local authorities.

Currently, Cai Be District Police (Tien Giang Province) has coordinated with relevant professional units to examine and seize relevant objects and documents to serve the investigation. Milk samples have also been sent for testing.

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