Old woman hospitalized in critical condition after taking drug addiction treatment drug by mistake due to methadone poisoning

The Emergency Department, Pediatric Emergency Department, Thanh Nhan Hospital has just admitted an elderly patient in a deep coma, with pupils as small as needle tips and severe respiratory failure.

The patient was resuscitated through the critical stage.

Under the direction of specialist doctor II Pham Thi Tra Giang - Head of the Emergency Department, the emergency team immediately placed an endotracheal tube, connected the ventilator, and performed intensive resuscitation to regain each breath. After urgent interventions, the patient gradually regained consciousness - but an unpredictable complication occurred when the patient's respiratory muscles were completely paralyzed, making the patient completely dependent on the ventilator.

The emergency team quickly placed an endotracheal tube, connected the patient to a ventilator, and actively resuscitated the patient.

The results of the multidisciplinary investigation of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Department of Neurology, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology all failed to find the correct disease. The doctors continued to search for the cause in the direction of respiratory center inhibition poisoning - an acute case.

While taking the patient’s medical history, the doctors learned that the patient had drunk a bottle of soft drink at home before being admitted to the hospital. The emergency team immediately sent a sample to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the results showed that the bottle contained methadone, a drug used by a family member’s nephew to treat drug addiction.

The patient is gradually recovering his health.

Methadone is not included in the routine toxicology screening, so it was not detected in the initial tests. However, the dose that is safe for a young person became a fatal dose for the weakened body of an elderly woman, causing respiratory failure and severe paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

With the quick and precise coordination of the medical team led by specialist doctor Pham Thi Tra Giang, the patient escaped the clutches of death.

The woman’s story is a heartbreaking and urgent warning about the dangers of improper storage of drugs and toxic chemicals. Accordingly, the family should especially never use soft drink bottles, mineral water bottles or food containers to store toxic substances, whether drugs, cleaning chemicals or anything else.

Medications, especially prescription or highly addictive medications, should be stored securely in locked cabinets, out of reach of children and the elderly. Awareness of the risk of poisoning in the home should be raised, especially in families with members undergoing medical treatment or drug addiction.

MANH TRAN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/uong-nham-thuoc-cai-nghien-cu-ba-nhap-vien-nguy-kich-vi-ngo-doc-methadone-post908383.html