Dr Mark Struthers, in referring to the appeal of Dawn Reid and
Christopher Lillie, quite rightly "finds it disturbing to learn that at
the centre of this extraordinary injustice there appears to have been a
toxic mixture of faulty clinical judgement and exertion of aberrant
medical power."
Another faulty clinical judgement and exertion of aberrant medical
power has been brought to my notice by the victims of the slogan "think
dirty" which now permeates the forensic Paediatric, Radiological and
Pathology services.
In this instance a carer was accused of Shaking an Infant to death by
Paediatricians, Radiologists and Pathologists when in fact the infant was
suffering from and died of Barlow's Disease (Infantile Scurvy). The
"scorbutic rosary" clearly demonstrable on X-Ray and at the post-mortem
examination was ignored and the calluses on several of the ribs and
elsewhere designated "fractures" implying "perpetrator."
No carer should be charged with such a crime without the accusers
clearly demonstrating that the infant had a normal coagulation profile and
a serum Vitamin C level greater than 0.2 mg/dl or a WBC concentration of
> 1.1micromol / 10x9 leucocytes
In this instance an abnormal Prothrombin Time was dismissed as not
significant and no attempt was made to determine the Vitamin C status in
spite of a history of bruising, loss of weight and all the other classical
symptoms of Infantile Scurvy.
Because of this "toxic mixture of faulty clinical judgment and
exertion of aberrant medical power" a carer is now imprisoned.
"What can be done to restore public confidence and trust in the
medical profession …" asks Dr Struthers - "The profession should be
taught to THINK CKEAN" - the Public reply.
Rapid Response:
Re: The imbalance of power
Editor,
Dr Mark Struthers, in referring to the appeal of Dawn Reid and
Christopher Lillie, quite rightly "finds it disturbing to learn that at
the centre of this extraordinary injustice there appears to have been a
toxic mixture of faulty clinical judgement and exertion of aberrant
medical power."
Another faulty clinical judgement and exertion of aberrant medical
power has been brought to my notice by the victims of the slogan "think
dirty" which now permeates the forensic Paediatric, Radiological and
Pathology services.
In this instance a carer was accused of Shaking an Infant to death by
Paediatricians, Radiologists and Pathologists when in fact the infant was
suffering from and died of Barlow's Disease (Infantile Scurvy). The
"scorbutic rosary" clearly demonstrable on X-Ray and at the post-mortem
examination was ignored and the calluses on several of the ribs and
elsewhere designated "fractures" implying "perpetrator."
No carer should be charged with such a crime without the accusers
clearly demonstrating that the infant had a normal coagulation profile and
a serum Vitamin C level greater than 0.2 mg/dl or a WBC concentration of
> 1.1micromol / 10x9 leucocytes
In this instance an abnormal Prothrombin Time was dismissed as not
significant and no attempt was made to determine the Vitamin C status in
spite of a history of bruising, loss of weight and all the other classical
symptoms of Infantile Scurvy.
Because of this "toxic mixture of faulty clinical judgment and
exertion of aberrant medical power" a carer is now imprisoned.
"What can be done to restore public confidence and trust in the
medical profession …" asks Dr Struthers - "The profession should be
taught to THINK CKEAN" - the Public reply.
Michael Innis FRCPA. FRCPath
Competing interests: No competing interests