FATAL DOSE

The baby who loved with her young parents in Egypt Village, spent six days at the Children’s Hospital, before being declared brain dead on Monday. On January 31, the baby’s young parents went to a pharmacy in Chaguanas and purchased a sleeping drug identified as melatonin with the intention of using the drop in the baby’s formula to assist her in sleeping.

Newsday understands that at 7.30 pm on January 31, the father added the melatonin to the baby’s milk and fed his daughter. At 8 pm, the child fell asleep, much to her parents’ relief as she was experiencing trouble sleeping. Half an hour later, when the mother went to check on her baby, the child was not on the bed.

During a frantic search, the parents found their daughter upside down in a clothes basket and in an unresponsive state. The young mother administered CPR (cardio- pulmonary resuscitation).

The baby was taken to the Chaguanas Health Centre where an initial test carried out revealed three possibilities identified as catastrophic injury, hypoxic injury and retinal haemorrhaging.

The baby was transferred to the Children’s Hospital in Mt Hope where she was placed on a respirator.

On Monday, Dr Persad carried out two brain tests on the baby which revealed she was clinically brain dead. A decision was then taken to pull the respirator plug.

Chaguanas police who interviewed both parents were told melatonin was not prescribed by any doctor and investigations are being carried out to ascertain if the parents are culpable in the child’s death.

Contacted yesterday, the Chaguanas pharmacist who sold the Melatonin to the baby’s parents told Newsday that he remembered the purchase very well because it was the norm for the pharmacist to have conversations with the persons asking for drugs. The pharmacist said he enquired of the father, if the drug was for his use.

The pharmacist said the man indicated the Melatonin was for his daughter who was just under a year old. The pharmacist advised that he should not give the drug to the child because there is no data stating it was safe for use by children.

The father, the pharmacist said, indicated that a paediatrician advised that the child be given the drug, but again he (the pharmacist) insisted with no prescription, the drug would not be sold.

The pharmacist said that the man then indicated he too was having trouble falling asleep and wanted the melatonin for his own use. The drug was sold to the baby’s father. The pharmacist said he is willing to cooperate with police investigators if need be.

Andrew Rahaman, President of the Council of the Pharmacy Board of Trinidad and Tobago yesterday said he was sorry to learn about the death of the child but stated Melatonin is an over-thecounter drug. He said that based on information surrounding the baby’s demise, Melatonin may not have been the cause of death, but rather her fall into the clothes basket where she was found upside down.

He said there is no data indicating if Melatonin is safe for use by babies or young children. “As a pharmacist, if someone comes to me I will not give Melatonin for use by a child because several questions will have to be asked. I have not experienced people coming to me and saying that their child cannot sleep. “It is up to the personal judgement of the pharmacist (to dispense medicine or not),” Rahaman said.

According to Wikipedia, Melatonin, also known as N-acetyl- 5-methoxy tryptamine, is a hormone that is produced by the pineal gland in animals and regulates sleep and wakefulness. Melatonin is also produced in plants where it functions as a first line of defense against oxidative stress.

As a medicine, it is used for the treatment of insomnia, however, scientific evidence is insufficient to demonstrate a benefit in this area.[8] Melatonin is sold overthe- counter in the United States and Canada. In other countries, it may require a prescription or it may be unavailable.