Lab tests two-yr-old wrong for dengue

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

26/11: Terror comes precariously close

Featured Slideshows

New Delhi; The outbreak of dengue has led to an increasing pressure on pathology labs in the capital. And this could lead to giving away of faulty reports.

Two-year-old Aditya Jain's parents took him for a blood test to one of Delhi's leading pathology labs when he continued to run temperature for three days.

The Jain’s thought nothing could be seriously wrong with their son. Until the blood test report showed that platelet levels were just 22,000, much lower than the normal 1,00,000.

"I'm not a doctor, but I know that 22,000 was extremely low,” Aditya’s father, Vipul Jain said.

A platelet level between 20,000 and 40,000 is considered so low that patients are made to undergo transfusions.

Aditya was soon rushed to a hospital. But much to his parents' surprise, the new reports indicated a healthy platelet level of 3.3 lakh. The child was kept under observation for a night, and discharged the next day.

"If they can get his test wrong, then maybe they could make a serious error too,” Vipul said.

However, the spokesperson of the pathology lab that tested Aditya's blood has ordered an enquiry into the slip-up.

"Ever since the outbreak of dengue in the county, we have performed more than 25,000 complete blood counts and platelet counts and have not received even one complaint. We are investigating this particular report and will respond after thoroughly checking the facts,” the spokesperson said.

The number of dengue cases in the country is now over 4,000 and with the load on pathology labs increasing, chances of errors creeping in are a likely and dangerous prospect.