Rajkot Hospital OT sealed as 10 develop complications after cataract surgery

“The hospital performed 32 cataract surgeries on September 23. During dressing, the staff detected unusual secretion of fluids from the eyes of nine of 32 patients. Samples were taken and sent to a laboratory in Rajkot while the patients were treated for bacterial infection. Laboratory tests confirmed bacterial infection among patients. After the incident was reported to us, we visited the hospital on Thursday and sealed the OT,” Dr Singh told The Indian Express on Sunday.

After the confirmation of bacterial infection, these nine patients were shifted to Rajkot Civil Hospital on Friday morning. “Of them, four had severe infection while five had mild infection,” the CDHO said, adding, “After the confirmation of the infection, the hospital reached out to 23 other patients who were operated upon on September 23 and asked them if they had any complications. During this exercise, they concluded that one patient from Botad also had developed complications, taking the number of infected patients to 10.”

Dr Singh further said that primary laboratory tests of samples taken from equipment in the OT have returned negative for the presence of bacteria. “Also, cataract surgeries were performed in the same OT on September 24 and 25 and no post-surgical complications have been reported among those patients. This can mean that these patients could have contracted infection before cataract surgeries or post surgery. To identify the source of infection, a five-member expert team comprising eye surgeons and microbiologists from the health department in Gandhinagar visited the hospital Friday and have taken samples for laboratory tests,” he underlined.

Located some 45 km east of Rajkot city, the SMEH in Virnagar village of Jadan taluka, was established by Dr Shivanand Adhvaryoo, an eye surgeon in 1956. The hospital is run by Netra Raksha Charitable Trust (NRCT) and performs surgeries free of cost.

Ashok Mehta, joint managing trustee of NRCT, said that the hospital has performed around 9.08 lakh eye surgeries since its inception. “When there was no one in the Saurashtra region to cure people of blindness, Dr Adhvaryoo took it up through the Shivanand Mission… The Trust and we trustees are pained beyond measure over what has happened. This has never happened in the long history of the hospital and we are extending all help (to affected patients) and if needed, the Trust is ready to bear the expenses of their treatment,” Mehta said.

The trustee further said the hospital was also trying on its own to identify the source of infection. “On Tuesday and Wednesday, 65 and 67 other patients were also operated upon in the same OT and there are no complaints. While we are trying to identify source of the infection, our trustee Dr (Chhotelal) Verma, who is also a senior doctor, is in Rajkot to ensure that patients get best treatment and their eyesight can be saved,” he said, adding, “Patients had to be shifted to Rajkot civil hospital for treatment after OT of our hospital was sealed.” Meanwhile, Dr Hetal Kyada, media coordinator of Rajkot Civil Hospital, said that seven of the nine affected patients were referred to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Saturday as they had severe infection.