Following the unexpected passing of young Jasher Francois, there have been many questions in the public domain about magnesium sulphate, its uses and possible side effects. Our senior reporter spoke with General Practitioner Dr. Mariana Browne for this report.
00:00According to Dr. Mariana Brown, magnesium sulfate is typically used to assist in the opening of the airways, but only as a last resort.
00:10Magnesium sulfate is usually used in severe cases of asthma or severe cases of bronchospasm.
00:19And that's after you've given treatment such as nebulized salbutamol, atrovent or normal saline.
00:25So if there's a severe case, then you would administer magnesium sulfate in a very extreme case of shortness of breath, a really bad asthma attack.
00:34And like I said, a bronchospasm is secondary to a lower respiratory tract infection.
00:40Like all medication, magnesium sulfate can cause side effects.
00:45So you can have mild side effects from the administration of magnesium sulfate.
00:49Usually it's administered through an IV access.
00:51Sometimes it's administered intramuscular and through an IV access, it can cause burning and pain when it's administered.
00:59And some people do experience side effects like nausea and vomiting as a side effect of the medication, right?
01:06It usually subsides eventually once the medication is done being administered.
01:11However, the doctor notes that adverse reactions are different and can usually be identified by the degree of the reaction being experienced.
01:21Anaphylapsis is a rapid reaction and it results in circulatory collapse.
01:28It's a multi-system reaction.
01:30So it can affect your heart.
01:32It can affect your gastrointestinal system.
01:35And it can affect your lungs.
01:37Your lungs can seize up and you get shortness of breath.
01:40And it can result in anaphylactic shock.
01:43And anaphylactic shock will and can result in cardiogenic shock.
01:48Joshua's initial autopsy indicated that he died from aspiration pneumonitis.
01:54The second was a more detailed report indicating that Joshua also suffered cardiogenic shock, acute kidney injury and hypoxic ischemic brain injury.
02:04So he had a multi-system failure, right?
02:09And eventually because he passed out, he ended up and he had episodes of vomiting.
02:14He may have widely passed out, vomited, and that would have caused him to aspirate.
02:18Aspirational pneumonia means that the gastric contents or the contents in your stomach end up in your lungs, basically.
02:26So he did aspirate and he did have an aspiration pneumonia.
02:30And the takeaway is that, yeah, we should probably test all IV medication because when you give a patient IV medication, it has 100% bioavailability.
02:41The medical doctor is sharing the following advice to parents and guardians.
02:46Always ask questions about the medication that is being given, especially if it's going to be given through IV access.
02:53And always be aware or educated on the potential complications of the medication and make an informed decision if you want it to be administered.
03:06And yes, we want to trust all healthcare professionals with the best interest, but patients also have the autonomy to make decisions about their own health.
03:15And the decision has to be made with the healthcare profession.
03:18The hospital is conducting an investigation into the incident.
03:23In severe respiratory cases where a patient is not saturating and the oxygen stacks are low and are not recovering,
03:33then recommendations to step up the facility and treatment, whether they are an HDU or high dependency unit or a pediatric intensive care unit for close monitoring.
03:44And the investigation will show what was done and if a review in person took place by the doctor and how it led to such a tragic, tragic loss.
Be the first to comment