“They were normal after delivery, but later started facing issues like reduced urine output and other complications.” That is how Lekhram, whose relative is among the patients, described what happened to women at PBM Hospital in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
Officials told PTI that six women developed serious complications, kidney problems among them, after caesarean deliveries there. All six are in the intensive care unit. Some need dialysis, which Hospital Superintendent Dr B C Ghiya said is being done regularly. Nephrology, gynaecology and medicine teams are treating them together.
Dr Surendra Verma, principal of Sardar Patel Medical College, said a probe committee has been formed. “The exact cause can be ascertained only after the report is submitted,” he said. Treatment and recovery come first, he added. Ghiya said further action would follow the findings of the medical investigation. Jitendra Falodiya, professor of nephrology, said the patients are in expert care with the necessary support.
Differing counts
The numbers are not settled. IANS reported five women, not six, who fell critically ill 10 to 15 days after delivery. Two had caesarean sections and three delivered normally, according to hospital officials quoted there. All five were in intensive care on dialysis, and a 20-year-old woman from Phalodi was on a ventilator in critical condition. Preliminary reports listed urinary retention, infections, low platelet counts and kidney failure.
Ghiya told IANS that pregnancy complications are not rare, but the hospital had seen a noticeable rise in them over the past week. The hospital’s committee of specialists is looking at infection, excessive bleeding and other medical factors.
The Kota comparison
Medical experts noted similarities with cases in Kota, where several women developed kidney problems within hours of caesarean deliveries, Hindustan Times reported. Those patients had sudden blood pressure drops, falling platelet counts and severe infections within eight to 10 hours of surgery, and some needed dialysis and ventilator support.
Rajasthan Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar rejected the link. He chaired a high-level meeting at Swasthya Bhawan on Tuesday and said the Bikaner cases arose at different times, involved both caesarean and normal births, and happened in different circumstances from Kota. A comprehensive inquiry has been ordered. At first glance, he said, the cases do not appear to involve negligence, but strict action would follow if the inquiry found any lapse.
Khimsar also acknowledged that infection control and hospital monitoring need strengthening. The government is considering third-party agencies to inspect hospitals across the state on a regular basis, he said.
Families have complained they were not given enough information about the patients’ condition and treatment. Lekhram asked for a fair inquiry “so that the real cause is known and such incidents do not recur.” Another attendant, Zubeda, raised similar worries about the sudden decline.
No date has been given for the committee’s report.
Sources
- Inquiry ordered after 6 women develop kidney complications following c-sections at Bikaner Hospital
- Five Women Suffer Kidney Failure After Delivery in Bikaner Hospital; Govt Orders Probe
