Medical stories from the Chinese media: girl dies after infusion to treat common cold

A four year old girl died at a hospital in Anshan, Liaoning after receiving an IV tonic infusion as treatment for a cold. The parents of the girl took her to the Angang Group Main Hospital when she had a cold. She received an IV infusion but started to gasp and feel short of breath and asked to have the drip removed. When the parents asked the doctor to do this he refused and said it was too much trouble and the girl should just try to sleep. The article says the patrents saw their daughter struggling for half an hour and begged the doctor to remove the infusion line, but he refused. The girl then lapsed into unconsciousness and died.
A spokesman for the hospital said everything was done to try save the child, but treatment was unsuccessful, and staff had not done anything wrong. He said an investigation was underway and would have to wait until results of the autopsy and tests on the drug infusion were available.
The article is published at Qianzhan.com

Doctor detained over outbreak of hepatitis C infections

A doctor has been detained after 95 people were hospitalized suspected of being infected with hepatitis C at a clinic in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, local health authorities said Tuesday.
The doctor, surnamed Xue, working as a surgeon at the clinic in the city of Donggang, was detained by local police on February 2 and is being investigated, according to sources with the city's health bureau.
A statement from the municipal health authorities said 120 patients who had received injections at the privately-run clinic were traced and screened for the infection of hepatitis C.
As many as 95 of them are suspected to have been infected with the disease, which the World Health Organization says can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
The clinic has been ordered to close. A further investigation is underway, the sources said.
Local authorities launched an investigation after receiving a tip-off on January 28.
Source: Global Times

Hepatitis C outbreak hospitalises nearly 100 in Liaoning

Ninety-five citizens of Donggang city in northeast China's Liaoning province have been hospitalized for suspected infection by hepatitis C at a clinic that gave them injections, local authorities announced on Monday.
A statement from the municipal health authorities said 120 patients who had received treatment at the clinic were traced and screened for the disease, and 95 of them are suspected to have been infected with the disease, which the World Health Organization says can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
Local authorities launched an investigation after being tipped off on Jan. 28 that patients who had received varicose vein treatment at a privately-run clinic were suspected to have been infected with hepatitis C.
Preliminary investigation has not ruled out the possibility of improper medical behavior of the clinic as the cause of the outbreak. Further investigation is underway.h Hepatitis C is viral and is mainly transmitted through contact with contaminated blood, although it can also spread through sexual contact and from mother to child during delivery.
Source: CRI

Doctors warn about rise in cosmetic surgery among Chinese girls

Girls under 18 are not psychologically mature enough for cosmetic surgery

by Michael Woodhead

More and more Chinese minors who are "ruled by beauty" are seeking cosmetic surgery for  non-medical reasons and doctors are warning about the trend.
Doctors say that cosmetic surgery requires psychological maturity and minors should be wary of cosmetic surgery as they may become end up physically and mentally "disfigured".
In one example this month, a middle aged couple in Shenyang, Liaoning, a middle-aged couple turned up at the Liaoning Provincial People's Hospital, to ask doctors in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery department why thy had performed cosmetic surgery on their 17-year old daughter without their permission
Medical staff were confused - and when they checked the patient's medical records they found the girl's ID card copy showed her as 22-year-old - and therefore an adult.
However, a hospital review found the girl was actually a high school student, who get that her face was chubby and therefore got the idea of having cosmetic surgery. For this reason, she deliberately made herself a fake ID on which she changed her age, and ultimately was successful in obtaining cosmetic of surgery.
In response to this, the Liaoning Provincial People's Hospital, director of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Dr  Long Yuanji said there were no circumstances in which minors could be allowed to have non-medical cosmetic plastic surgery, and therefore  the hospital requires that any young people who seek surgery must be accompanied by parents and signed agree to surgery.
Chinese media reporters have  found that the  demand for cosmetic surgery gradually increased towards the end of the year the, most of it for girls. There were three main groups of High School, Middle School, and Art School candidates who sought surgery as preparation for college entrance admission. The main categories of surgery favoured by minors were  double-fold eyelids, nose jobs,  bone lengthening and liposuction f.
Dr Long said cosmetic surgery was increasingly sought by minors but it requires not only physical maturity, but also there needs to be psychologically maturity as patients need to be fully prepared to face a series of unknown surgical risks. Many minors are psychology not fully mature but blindly follow the trend. However, their ability to tolerate it is limited and if surgery 'fails',  it inflicts a huge  psychological blow.
Often after cosmetic surgery there is a gap between expectation and results, he says. He cites rhinoplasty surgery as an example, as it is, sometimes difficult to achieve satisfactory results with the nose. Dr Long urges parents and minors not to let plastic surgery lead them into being disfigured.
Read more: China Medical Tribune