But who made the fatal mistake is still unknown. Did the doctors buy the wrong thing or did the manufacturers sell the wrong thing? The answer to this question is now looking for a consequence. It depends on him who will be responsible for the death of seven (Saturday data) patients of the St. Petersburg Consultative and Diagnostic Center (CDC) No. 1, who in December and January had an X-ray of the stomach with contrast using a preparation with barium.
How did it happen that technical barium was supplied to CDC No. 1, and not medical — the investigation is now sorting it out. In the photo: an X-ray image, for which the patient was injected with medical barium contrast
Doctors often prescribe contrast radiography of the upper gastrointestinal tract for diseases such as ulcers, gastritis, gastric hernia, neoplasms in the form of a tumor, etc. At the same time, doctors use barium sulfate for contrast: it reflects x-rays and allows you to get more detailed pictures. The drug is dissolved in water and given to the patient to drink before and during the study.
It was after this allegedly harmless procedure, carried out in CDC No. 1, from January 24 to January 26, six St. Petersburg residents in serious condition with the same signs of poisoning with an unknown substance ended up in the intensive care unit of the hospital. Botkin. Three of them (two 60-year-old women and a 42-year-old man, father of four) died a few hours later.
The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for St. Petersburg responded to fatal poisonings with a criminal case on the fact of “causing death by negligence” (Article 109 part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and “providing services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers” (Article 238 part 3 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Roszdravnadzor urgently banned doctors from using a batch of barium sulfate (according to the city health committee, it was also used in other medical institutions in St. Petersburg). And the investigators requested CDC No. 1 lists of those who had undergone a gastrointestinal examination in the last two months. And it turned out that medical procedures turned into death for several more people. Now, at least seven dead and at least 30 injured are in the criminal case.
Guilty of the incident was announced on January 28 by the head doctor of CDC No. 1, Yevgeny Popov, on the same day he was sent to a pre-trial detention center. According to the GSU of the RF IC for St. Petersburg, it was the head of the center who allegedly approved the purchase from the St. Petersburg supplier, NevaReaktiv LLC, of the drug Barium sulfate 0.10 (H2O)%. It is not included in the state register of medicines, cannot be used for medical purposes and is dangerous to health and life. But, according to the investigation, it was this powder that was used as a contrast agent for stomach radiography at CDC No. 1 in December and January.