By Lee Hui Chieh
A DOCTOR has been stripped of her licence to practise medicine for botching the treatment of an elderly woman who later died of heart failure.
Dr Diana Santos, 38, drastically over-prescribed a heart medication and failed to follow up properly with the woman before her death in 2005, the Singapore Medical Council said yesterday.
Dr Santos, who was working at Clementi Polyclinic, was also fined $3,000 following a disciplinary hearing last month. She stopped practising in June 2006, and is now a hospital administrator.
The elderly woman, Madam Koh Ah Tow, had gone to the polyclinic in March 2005 for a regular checkup. She was suffering from a litany of health problems, including an irregular heartbeat.
Dr Santos mistakenly raised the 88-year-old woman's daily dose of digoxin - which makes the heart beat slower but with greater force - fourfold.
She also did not schedule a check-up within two weeks, standard practice when the dosage of the drug is increased. By the time Madam Koh showed up for her appointment six weeks later, she was drowsy, and was admitted to Alexandra Hospital. She died on June 3, 2005 of heart failure.
In a June 2006 inquest into Madam Koh's death, the State Coroner recorded an open verdict, saying the evidence was inconclusive.
Ms Doreen Tan, a pharmacist who specialises in cardiology, said toxic levels of digoxin could cause the heart to stop beating. The safe level of digoxin varies from person to person, but usually those aged above 75 are given no more than half of what Madam Koh received, said Ms Tan.
The National Healthcare Group Polyclinics, which runs Clementi Polyclinic, said it has taken steps to prevent a repeat incident, including having a senior doctor countersign on any change to dosages of critical drugs.
This story was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 18, 2008.
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