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.
03:55Runessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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