Probe Ordered: Dengue patient allegedly put on 'mosambi juice drip', dies

A private hospital in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh where a dengue patient lost his life after he was allegedly transfused fruit juice in lieu of blood platelets has been sealed off after a preliminary probe by the district administration into the incident revealed slips on the part of the hospital authorities. The family of the patient has appealed to the UP government to take firm action against those responsible.

The family of the patient were allegedly given sweet lime juice in a bag marked as 'plasma' at the Global Hospital and Trauma Centre in Prayagraj. The patient's family alleges his condition worsened after transfusion from one of the bags given by the hospital.

The patient was shifted to a second private hospital, where he lost his life, the family said, adding that doctors at this second hospital told them the 'platelet' bag was fake and actually a mix of chemicals and sweet like or mosambi juice.

The family of the deceased has called for strict action against the hospital administration. "My 26-year-old sister is widow. I want the Yogi Adityanath government to take strict action against the hospital for the lapses," Saurabh Tripathi, a relative of the patient said.

Taking to Twitter, Deputy chief minister of the state Brajesh Pathak stated, "Taking cognisance of the viral video at the hospital where a dengue patient was transfused with sweet lemon juice instead of platelets, on my directive the hospital was sealed and the platelet packets have been sent for testing." "If found guilty, strict action will be taken against the hospital,” he said.

The private hospital has now been sealed on the orders of the chief medical officer and will remain shut till the sample is tested, the Additional Chief Medical Officer of Prayagraj said in a statement to the media.

The hospital has denied all the allegations, saying the platelets were procured by the relatives of the patients themselves. The owner of the hospital, said that the patient's platelets level dropped to 17,000, after which his relatives were asked to arrange blood platelets.

"They brought five units of platelets from a government hospital. After transfusion of three units, the patient had a reaction. So we stopped it," the owner of the hospital in question said, further adding that he also supports a probe.

Prayagraj District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri, stated, "An inquiry is underway and the platelets will also be tested."

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