Dubai: A would-be mother almost died after a hospital discharged her because doctors failed to diagnose a tubal pregnancy.
Ginu Mariam Thomas, 28, rushed to the NMC Specialty Hospital for severe pelvic pain, dizziness, nausea and spotting, hoping doctors would confirm if she had an ectopic pregnancy.
The 28-year-old suspected she had the dangerous condition after she had done her own research. In this type of pregnancy, the fertilised egg attaches and grows in the Fallopian tube instead of in the uterus.
She also took medical reports from her gynaecologist at Al Muhaisnah Polyclinic.
Despite this the doctor put her concerns down to first-pregnancy jitters.
"The doctor said it was nothing and that it was a fear associated with her first pregnancy," she said.
The doctor did not conduct any tests, instead he put her on an IV drip, gave her painkillers and discharged her just before midnight, she said.
The next day Ginu collapsed just after reaching her office in Jebel Ali where she works as an accountant.
The company ambulance rushed her to Cedars Jebel Ali International Hospital, where doctors found her right Fallopian tube had burst from the foetus growing there.
She underwent emergency surgery to remove the foetus and her damaged tube. She was hospitalised for five days, and was put on one-month bed rest.
Now coming out of the ordeal, Ginu wonders how both her doctors at Al Muhaisnah Polyclinic and NMC Specialty Hospital could fail to diagnose her condition.
"I feel some trauma from losing the baby and the tube. I went [to the doctors] and said I suspected an ectopic pregnancy and they didn't do anything," she said.
Dr Fatima Iqbal, specialist gynaecologist at Al Muhaisnah Polyclinic, told Gulf News she could not diagnose an ectopic pregnancy because she did not have the facilities to conduct confirmatory tests.
"I did not see anything in her uterus because sometimes at five weeks plus, it's hard to see. I could not definitively see if it was an ectopic pregnancy [although I suspected it]," she said.
However, she admitted she did not write her suspicions in the medical report she gave Ginu.
Judgment
Dr Ajit Kumar, medical director at NMC Specialty Hospital, told Gulf News the medical report was partly why the emergency doctor on duty dismissed Ginu's case as not serious. "In her clinical judgment, she thought there was no clinical emergency at that point," he said.
He added the doctor also broke protocol when she did not consult a senior doctor to confirm her decision.
Describing the doctor's clinical judgment as "not the ideal thing", Dr Kumar said the hospital was taking steps to prevent a reoccurrence. "If there is the slightest doubt about anything, they have to call a senior doctor. We also have to make sure they don't just go on reports from the outside," he said.
Dr Eisa Kazim, assistant director-general of medical affairs at the Department of Health and Medical Services [Dohms], told Gulf News they would investigate the case and take action if needed.
Untreated
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the embryo implants outside the uterine cavity, such as in the Fallopian tube, cervix and ovary, and continues developing. If left untreated, it will burst causing bleeding and possibly death.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), ectopic pregnancy is the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester. About 2 per cent of all pregnancies are ectopic and there is a 15 percent chance of another recurring.
