ANOTHER MAN died last Sunday, December 9, in Faro Hospital allegedly due to an allergic reaction to penicillin.
The patient entered Albufeira health centre on Thursday, December 6, suffering from a severe sore throat. According to the family, quoted by a Portuguese daily newspaper, the Albufeira doctor prescribed him three injections of Lentocilin, a penicillin based medicine often used for internal infections.
After a first dose of the medicine, Helder Frade, who was 31-years-old, married and the father of two children aged four and six years, was sent home but returned on Friday still complaining of pain. Due to the severity of his condition, the Albufeira doctor is believed to have written a letter for him to take to Faro Hospital. However, the man returned home to Fontainhas, near Albufeira, and only on Saturday, when he was having severe problems breathing, was an ambulance called by his family.
He was admitted to the Emergency Room at Faro Hospital at 2pm on Saturday, where he remained connected to a ventilation machine until his death at 5am on Sunday. According to his family, the Direcção Regional de Saúde, the regional health authority, has not announced an investigation into the doctors’ actions. Doctors should always ask if a patient is allergic to penicillin before prescribing any medication.
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