A man named Raahib Reza passed away from cardiac arrest during an endoscopy procedure at Lab Aid Hospital in Dhanmondi, Dhaka on Monday.
He was employed at an IT company in the capital.
His family members allege that Raahib Reza was given anesthesia without a prior examination of his test reports at Lab Aid Hospital.
They claim that the endoscopy was conducted despite his existing physical complications, leading to a heart attack and his subsequent death.
However, the doctor involved in the procedure, Prof Mamun Al Mahtab, former chairman of the Hepatology Department and head of the Interventional Hepatology Department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), claimed that he was unaware of the patient's pre-existing conditions.
According to relatives, Prof Mamun Al Mahtab, had recommended that Raahib undergo an endoscopy on February 15. Following the doctor’s advice, Raahib underwent the procedure at the hospital at around 11pm the next day.
The family claimed that about an hour and a half later, Raahib’s condition started deteriorating and he was taken to the hospital’s ICU.
After being treated there for three days, he was declared dead on Monday morning.
Doctor’s statement
Prof Mamun Al Mahtab said Raahib consulted him for fatty liver disease and it was suggested that he have an endoscopy.
He mentioned that he presented Raahib with both options: undergoing the procedure by taking sleeping pills or staying awake. Raahib opted for the sleeping pills.
The doctor further stated that the endoscopy procedure lasted less than a minute and he sent Raahib for observation.
"After sending him there, the nurse told us that the patient's condition was bad after installing the monitor. Apart from me, seven to eight people, including two doctors and three nurses, were there to monitor him.
“We rushed there, tried to normalize the patient, and took whatever measures needed to be taken. After a while, I saw that the patient's saturation had returned, and blood pressure was available on the monitor, but he was still unconscious. In the meantime, his blood pressure and oxygen saturation dropped,” he said.
He added that after he observed Raahib’s condition, he tried to contact his family. Only Raahib’s colleague was present there.
“When I told him about the patient, he said he would contact Raahib’s sister,” said Prof Mamun Al Mahtab.
After that conversation, they took Raahib to the ICU and gave him oxygen support. “There I saw that he suffered a cardiac arrest.”
Stating that the patient's saturation and pulse were unavailable in the ICU, he said: "Later, we placed the patient on life support. I personally examined the patient till 2am that night. Following the completion of my morning clinic, I returned to check on the patient once more."
He added that the hospital authorities did not hide anything from Raahib’s family. They also formed a medical board at their request.
One of the members of Raahib’s family, Maqbool, even said they were happy with the hospital’s efforts, said Prof Mahtab.
The patient was declared brain dead on Sunday morning and his family was informed of the matter.
"I told them, if you want, you can keep him on life support. The patient's mother said the family wanted to continue his treatment on life support and depended on a miracle. By Monday morning, the patient's organs had failed,” he said.
When asked if they had seen Raahib’s medical history, Prof Mahtab said they later got to know that he had sleep apnea.
“The patient had septicemia (infection in the lungs that caused blood ingestion), which was caused by an infection in the body. None of this information was given to us. His blood count was high, probably from a lung infection. We were not told about that either,” he added.
He further stated that he did not blame Raahib for not informing him about his sleep apnea. “Maybe he did not realize he needed to mention that to me. To test for sleep apnea, a person has to sleep in the hospital for one night with a machine installed.”
Statement from Lab Aid
Asked about the allegations, Chowdhury Meher-e-Khuda, public relations officer of Lab Aid Group, said: “He came for an endoscopy. He suffered a cardiac arrest on the endoscopy table. Then he was admitted to the ICU. We actually found the patient only after he had suffered a cardiac arrest. He died 72 hours after being admitted to the ICU. We have not received any complaints against us so far.”