Infant Deaths Probe

[Anchor Lead]

Health authorities say the sudden deaths of four infants at a Seoul hospital were caused by a medical error. Police investigating the deaths of the newborns at Ewha Womans University Medical Center will question two medical workers to determine the hospital’s responsibility in the tragedy.

[Pkg]

Health authorities have reached a conclusion in the investigation of the deaths back in December of four newborn babies at Ewha Womans University Medical Center. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that the hospital staff caused the contamination of intravenous solutions that were administered to the newborns the day before their deaths. In a report submitted to police on March 2nd, the CDC said that the infants developed sepsis after contaminated IV solutions had been administered to them through central venous catheters. The report concluded that the contamination apparently occurred during the preparation process. The preparation process refers to administering a sealed IV solution in the form of injection. The investigation has revealed that the contamination was likely caused by the nurses' hands. The results of the probe support the opinion of the National Forensic Service, which believes that the infants' deaths were caused by citrobacter sepsis. Police will soon interrogate two more professors from the Intensive Care Unit of Ewha Womans University Medical Center as suspects. Police believe that the professors neglected their duty of educating medical personnel of the importance of hygiene. Police plan to transfer the case to prosecutors this month after conducting additional interrogations of the hospital staff.