YANBU, 2 September 2007 — The Health Affairs office in Madinah announced that today an investigation would open into the case of Fateema Al-Refaie, the 33-year-old patient that went into a possible irreversible coma at Yanbu General Hospital on Aug. 3 after being given an antibiotic drug.
The Health Affairs spokesman in Madinah, Adil Sharaf, said a committee would investigate whether an avoidable medical mistake played a role in Al-Refaie’s condition. The patient has been diagnosed as brain dead, but later doctors claimed she might simply be in a coma.
The committee assigned to look into the case will investigate the drug administered to the patient to see whether medical staff followed proper procedure. Arab News previously reported that the doctor and the nurse were banned from traveling abroad until this investigation is closed.
On Aug. 21, Eid Al-Refaie brought Dr. Yaser Redwan, a heart consultant at Erfan and Saiedi General Hospital in Yanbu, to examine his sister. The doctor concluded that Fateema was brain dead and that her heart stopped as a result of the injection. He said that the delay in treating her after her condition worsened resulted in brain atrophy that later left the woman brain dead.
Redwan blamed the doctor for Fateema’s condition and said he did not test to see whether the patient was sensitive to the medicine.
Fateema was transferred to King Fahd Hospital in Madinah on Aug. 22 so she could receive better medical attention. On Aug. 27 it was reported that she was not brain dead like her brother had claimed and instead was in a coma. She underwent immediate surgery to revive her.
If the investigation concludes that Fateema’s condition is the result of medical malpractice, the case would go to a court. The patient is still in a coma in the intensive care ward at King Faisal Hospital in Madinah.
