DOCTOR FACES MALPRACTICE OVER SWINE-FLU PATIENT

       A relative of a 28yearold man who died of acute lung disease earlier this month has called on the Medical Council to probe the ethics of a physiฌcian at a private hospital in the Bang Na area for medical malpractice.
       Peeravee Tuangsinkulabhodi's aunt said she believed her nephew had type A(H1N1) influenza.
       An executive of the private hospiฌtal said the treatment the doctor proฌvided followed medical standards.
       The man's aunt, Puangpaka Pipatbenjaphon, 42, said her nephew was in a critical condition and had trouble breathing. But when she asked the doctor about his symptoms, there were no clear answers.
       Peeravee developed flulike sympฌtoms on June 24 after seven people in his family had fallen ill with what Puangpaka described as a flulike illฌness. She said he was a strong and healthy person and did not have any preexisting diseases.
       The aunt, Puangpaka, said she believed Peeravee was exposed to the virus after he visited a niece who had typeA (H1N1) flu and was admitted to the Bang Na private hospital.
       Peeravee was later admitted to the same hospital with a high fever and cough. His aunt said the doctor at this hospital collected fluid samples from his sinuses but did not conduct an Xray examination to study the condition of his lungs.
       One day later, he still had high fever and vomiting. He could eat only small portions of food. Doctors told him he had a seasonal flu and gave him only a fever reducer, Puangpaka said.
       On June 26, he still had a cough and was vomiting. He had no fever but was drowsy. Doctors told him to stay at home for selfmedication but his mother wanted him to undergo treatฌment at hospital as his symptoms did not seem to improve.
       He went back to the hospital and this time had a chest Xray which showed that Peeravee's lungs were "almost destroyed,"according to his aunt. Doctors then said he suffered from a severe form of pulmonary infecฌtion.
       On June 28, he was transferred to the nearby hospital in the same area, as the first hospital said it did not have a specialised physician to provide treatment for him. A doctor "rescued" Peeravee by using an oxygen mask and admitted him to the hospital's intenฌsive care unit.
       Two days later, Peeravee's sympฌtoms were worse, Puangpaka said.
       "When I asked the nurses about my nephew they did not answer my quesฌtions. The doctor just told me my nephew was not infected by the new flu virus as he could not find any pathogen," she said.
       "On August 2, he was in critical conฌdition and could not breathe," Puangpaka says. She wanted to transฌfer him to yet other hospital which they thought could provide better treatฌment, but the doctor said they could not move Peeravee.
       On August 5, Puangpaka says, Peeravee's oxygen level had dropped more than 50 percent but the doctor said his heart was normal.
       Peeravee's relatives asked the secฌond hospital to copy the man's medฌical records and send him to a third hospital. He was transferred to this hospital in the Sukhumvit area and admitted for 28 days but his symptoms developed into a severe condition. For the treatment at this hospital, his famฌily had to pay Bt3 million.
       Then, on August 3, he died.
       Relatives took Peeravee's body to Chulalongkorn University for an autopsy examination but medical workers there said as the body was injected with formalin they could not find any pathogens.
       An executive of the second private hospital, who wanted to be unnamed, said his hospital insisted the doctor had provided treatment to the patient in accordance with medical standards and given information to the relatives.
       "The doctor is a serious man. When the patient's relatives asked him so much about the medical treatment he might have talked to them bluntly."
       The executive said the Peeravee might have suffered from respiratory distress syndrome .
       "We treated him with the supportive treatment but his symptoms did not improve," he said.
       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who also received a complaint from Peeravee's relatives, vowed to look into this case.