Swallowing of coins did not kill 3-year-old: Report

KOCHI: Asserting the postmortem findings of the three-year-old Prithviraj who died at Aluva on August 1, the chemical analysis report published on Friday said the death was due to asphyxiation. The report also ruled out the role of ingestion of the coin in his death.“Status asthmaticus or continuous breathing trouble is the cause of death as per the report. The officials of Regional Chemical Laboratory, Kakkanad, found clear symptoms of asphyxiation in the child’s lungs and heart. Apart from the report, we have also taken the opinion of the police surgeon and experts from the pathology department to finalise the findings,” said Binanipuram CI Sunil V R, who is in charge of the investigation.

Prithviraj had been struggling with respiratory ailment during the cold atmosphere in monsoon. 
“The child had been suffering from breathing trouble for a long time. He had also developed pneumonia and was admitted to Ernakulam Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery and Lakshmi Hospital, Aluva in the past. Usually, his condition aggravated in a cold atmosphere,” Sunil said.

He said the two coins that he had swallowed on the day he died had reached his sigmoid colon, the end of his large intestine close to the rectum, by the time of death. “It shows that the swallowing of coins had no impact on his death,” he said. The tissue and cell samples of the child were tested during the chemical analysis at the Kakkanad laboratory.

The child’s family had alleged that Prithviraj was denied treatment from three hospitals saying that the family hailed from a Covid containment zone. They had first gone to the District Hospital at Aluva from where they were referred to the Ernakulam General Hospital. Later, Prithviraj was taken to the Alappuzha Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) where the doctor told the child’s parents that the ingested coins would pass through his faeces.Health Minister K K Shailaja had ordered an inquiry into the death in the wake of the allegations against the Alappuzha MCH doctor. The principal secretary (Health) was tasked with the investigation.

‘No medical negligence’
Binanipuram CI Sunil V R said the asphyxiation factor wasn’t considered during the child’s treatment as focus was on the impact of swallowed coins. “His relatives didn’t mention about his respiratory ailment. Besides, the child didn’t show any symptoms of breathing trouble and none of the OP sheets mentioned the ailment. As per the analysis report, his lung tissues had collapsed and hemorrhage was found in the heart’s chambers due to the respiratory ailment,” he said.