A 59-year-old female principal, who was admitted to Peradeniya Teaching Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) due to complications arising from an anesthetic injection, passed away yesterday morning (15).
The deceased, E. G. Karuwathy, was a mother of two children and held the position of principal at Maussawa Junior High School in Kandy.
Around two months ago, she underwent hospitalization for a hernia condition. Subsequently, the principal’s admission to the ICU resulted from complications stemming from an injection administered during an operation in April. She remained under treatment in the ICU until her demise.
Tragically, another mother, admitted to the same hospital for childbirth while the principal received treatment in the ICU, experienced complications after receiving the identical anesthetic injection that was given to the principal. Regrettably, the mother also passed away while undergoing treatment in the ICU.
In response to this incident, the Ministry of Health promptly halted the administration of the anesthetic vaccine, which had led to complications, and initiated an investigation. The specific anesthetic vaccine responsible for the complications was identified as Propofol 500mg/50ml, batch numbers 23CPF01 and 23CPF02, procured from SP Accure Labs Pvt Ltd, India. The removal of these vaccines involved a two-phase injection point process.
Dr. Arjuna Thilakaratne, the director of Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, affirmed that the same vaccine given to the mother admitted for delivery had been administered to the principal a few days prior, resulting in the young mother’s unfortunate demise. He further stated that the principal had received treatment in the ICU for nearly two months.
The post-mortem examination of the deceased principal’s body was conducted by Mr. Prabhat Senasinghe, an expert forensic doctor affiliated with Peradeniya Teaching Hospital.
