Mar 02 2017 : The Times of India (Chennai)

Expired cough syrup leaves 2-year-old dead

Mandya: TIMES NEWS NETWORK  A two-year-old boy died after his mother erroneously administered a dose of expired cough syrup in the district's KR Pete taluk on Wednesday morning. Police said Manasa allegedly took the decision to administer oral drops to her son without medical advice. Sources said the syrup was long past its expiry date, and she allegedly picked the bottle when the boy's cough was persistent. Within minutes, the boy , Dikshit, lost consciousness. Frightened parents rushed the child to taluk hospital where the only duty doctor was away conducting postmortem on a farmer, who committed suicide hours earlier. Immediately , the parents took the child to a private nursing home where doctors allegedly refused to treat the boy saying he was brought dead. Controlling their grief, the parents brought their boy back to the taluk government hospital. By then, the doctor, Ravi, was back at work. Sources said Dr Ravi conducted a series of tests, including electrocardiogram, to ascertain whether child was alive. The results proved otherwise. The grief-stricken parents said if the doctor was present at the hospital and treated the child during their first visit, their child would have been alive. They accused the doctor of medical negligence. Denying the allegation, Dr Ravi said he was busy with another emergency and conducted all possible tests to revive the baby . District health officer Dr Mohan also rejected the family's allegation.