Mumbai, May 2: A 65-year-old tailor from Mankhurd Abdul Gaffar Khan dies in Sion Hospital on Saturday afternoon, after the chemist gave him a wrong medicine, reports Mumbai Mirror.Khan,who had hypertension,was erroneously given medicine for cancer by the chemist a few days ago.
He died in hospital on Saturday afternoon. Khan,who was undergoing treatment at the out-patient department at Sion hospital,had recently been prescribed a list of medicines - one of which was Met XL 50.Instead of giving him this drug,the chemist gave him an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug called Methotrexate.
Within 24 hours of taking this,Khan's body broke into a rash,and he started feeling uneasy.He was taken to Sion hospital where he breathed his last.The sole breadwinner of an extended family of 10,Khan is survived by his wife,a daughter of marriageable age and four sons.
Khan's nephew, Abdul Ali, said that his uncle had acute hypertension and was undergoing treatment for the last four months.
“On April 15, during a routine check-up at Sion hospital, the doctor prescribed four medicines. The next day, he told me to fetch the medicines from Mukhtai Medical Store,” Ali said. “Two days later, he started taking the medicines which made him nauseous and giddy and had boils all over his body.”
On April 24, Khan was admitted to Sion hospital. Doctors at the hospital confirmed that instead of being given ‘Met XL 50' - a drug to treat hypertension, Khan had been taking ‘Methotrexate' - an anti-cancer drug which has severe side-effects.
Over the next five days, Khan's condition deteriorated. He died on Saturday afternoon.
Acting Dean of Sion hospital, Dr Suleman Merchant, told Mumbai Mirror that Khan died due to wrong medication.
“The medicine he was taking is an anti-cancer drug, and is extremely strong. Such medicines should not be given without a proper prescription,” said Dr Merchant. “We tried our best to treat the patient.”
Forensic experts who conducted a post-mortem on Khan's body confirmed that the anti-cancer drug was mainly responsible for Khan's death. “Methotrexate is a schedule ‘H' drug, which should not be doled out without prescription.
Even after administering this drug, the patient needs to be kept under observation every three days for any adverse reaction,” said Dr Rajesh Dere who conducted the post-mortem.
“In this case, the patient did not have cancer and the drug had severe side-effects, prima facie leading to his death. I have advised the police to book the chemist.”
Police Sub-Inspector V Jadhav from Trombay police station, said: “For now, a case of accidental death has been registered.The chemist had not given a bill. As soon as we get the bill, we will register a case and take action against the chemist.”
