Despite planning a ‘perfect and unique suicide’, a medical professional in the national Capital was saved by doctors using an unusual medical technique. So peculiar was this episode of suicide attempt followed by the medical treatment that the report in this regard has now found place in the Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine (IJCCM).
The 32-year-old postgraduate doctor, presumably unable to cope with daily pressure, tried to end his life by taking two cardiac drugs to ensure definite cardiac arrest and a drug for brain damage — but he was saved by doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The report about the alleged suicide attempt by the medical professional and his subsequent treatment was published in the IJCCM’s March 2014 issue.
“I had never seen in my practice of 25 years, this unique and deadly concoction as a method of attempted suicide. The challenge for us was to find an antidote for the cardiac drug he consumed which was specific to the antibody fragments,” said Sumit Ray, vice-chairperson, department of critical care, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, in a statement.
The drug that the medical student consumed to kill himself is used to control irregular heartbeats in patients, but if taken in large doses, it can cause a complete standstill leading to cardiac arrest. A collective consultation of a team of cardiologists, nephrologists and critical care specialists attempted a charcoal-based hemoperfusion used for removing drug related toxins but rarely attempted for this particular drug.
The new treatment surprisingly reduced the level of toxins in his body and saved the life of the medical professional. “We were pleasantly
surprised by the results as after 15 hours of hemoperfusion with two cartridges of this activated charcoal based adsorbent, the serum digoxin levels started reducing significantly,” added Ray.