Cuttack: Spurious injection has been supplied to SCM Medical College and Hospital here under Niramaya that is touted as the pilot project of the state government, sources said.
Metaclopramide, the spurious injection used mostly for stomach and oesophaegal problems, came to light after the doctors at SCB became suspicious of its colour and raised questions about its standard. While the original colour of the injection is white, the one supplied to SCB was found to be blue.
The injection came under the scanner after it was administered to a patient of the casualty ward who allegedly suffered adverse drug reaction (ADR). Subsequently, the doctors decided not to administer the injection to other patients.
Recently, the SCB drug store in-charge wrote to the drug inspector to test the injection, it was learnt. However, the drug inspector neither collected the sample of the injection nor did he send it for laboratory tests, a source said.
“What’s more shocking is that the injection has been administered to nearly 5,000 patients until its quality issue came to the notice of the doctors. Now it is difficult to find out how many patients had adverse reactions due to the injection,’’ the source added.
Incidentally, the injection was supplied to SCB by the state drug corporation under the Niramaya scheme. According to the data given by the SCB warehouse, the corporation supplied 10,000 Metaclopramide injections to the hospital in 2016-17 financial year of which 5,000 injections have already been administered to patients.
Sources said, the drug is prepared in Indore of Madhya Pradesh. While the injection supplied to SCB was manufactured May 5, 2016, its expiry month is April, 2018.
Some senior doctors said, there are instructions on the sticker of some injections as to how it should be stored. In some it is written that the injection should be stored in a dark and cool place. However, drugs are stored at SCB much like things being dumped into godowns.
“So, there are possibilities that the colour of the injection changed after it was exposed to sunlight and high temperature. The exact cause cannot be found unless it is tested in the laboratory, a doctor said.
According to Rogi Adhikar Manch president Amiya Bhusan Biswal, the state government should not have supplied the injection for patients’ use If there were manufacturing defects.
“A drug is tested at three government-run laboratories before it is supplied to hospitals. After the tests, the standard of the drugs is declared. However, it should be probed whether the Metaclopramide injection was properly tested at the laboratories before supply. Besides, the agreement of the state government with the Indore-based firm should be examined,” Biswal said.
SCB store medical officer Srikant Panda said, “I learnt that a patient had adverse reaction after the injection was pushed. But I didn’t get any evidence of that. As for the change of colour of the injection, we have sent it for laboratory tests and have asked doctors not to administer it to patients,” Panda added while SCB superintendent Shyama Kanungo echoed him.
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