Kanpur: At least two cases from UP's Kanpur have demonstrated cases of perforated intestine.
A 7-year-old Priya from Kanpur was suffering from extensive diarrhoea. Parents approached the private hospital here.
The child was given Lomotil to stop diarrhoea.
Thereafter the child suffered acute constipation and acute loss of appetite.
Parents again went to the same hospital where the paediatrician after doing an Ultrasound informed them that their child was suffering from a hole in the intestine.
They were asked to pay Rs 15 lakh for correcting hole surgery.
Parents appeared in PGI, Chandigarh, and then got to know it was Lomotil that caused a hole in the intestine.
PGI did surgery within minimal cost and the child got fine later.
Her father Ramdeen while speaking to The Daily Guardian told that many such kids in Kanpur had the same problem and got surgically treated in the same private hospital.
Another case of 6-year-old Sidharth, too was from the city. The child suffered diarrhoea, given Lomotil by another private practicing paediatrician.
He later presented with an acute stomach ache, acute constipation, and was found to have an intestine perforation.
His father Sumant Suman was asked to shell out Rs 21 lakh for perforation correction surgery.
The expert paediatrician of a private hospital said, "This is a banned drug and shall not be available over the counter. Lomotil does not cause perforation for sure, yet there are maximum cases of perforation due to this medicine. Even addicts are taking this medicine as an opioid."
“Lomotil may cause perforation, we often ask parents if they had given this specific medicine to the child during diarrhoea, they say yes. And, there is evidence available in many medical journals as well."
