The key facts

  • A child with seizures against a background of high fever was brought to a clinic in the Yunusabad district approximately 12 hours after the fever began
  • Medics provided first aid and, after half an hour of observation, released the child home, referring them to a family doctor
  • Medical staff urged parents not to delay seeing a doctor at the first symptoms of illness

What happened at the clinic

At a family polyclinic in the Yunusabad district of Tashkent on November 12, at midday, parents urgently carried a child into the emergency medical care department. According to clinic employee Saodat Karimova, the father ran in shouting for help, and the child was in an asphyxiated state — blue in the face, with signs of a seizure. Staff immediately began providing first aid, after which the doctor recommended urgently taking the child to intensive care — they ran there, without waiting for the elevator.

Circumstances of the visit

The child was brought to the clinic approximately 12 hours after the fever began. The nurse recommended taking the child straight to the infectious diseases hospital, but after leaving the clinic the child's condition worsened, and the parents demanded help from the medical staff.

The intensive care unit's account and the medics' appeal

The head of the intensive care unit said that the child arrived conscious and crying; after first aid, five minutes later the child was returned to the mother, was kept under observation for another half hour, and was then released home, referred to a family doctor to continue treatment. According to him, febrile seizures in children against a background of high fever are a common occurrence in practice, and up to 3–4 such cases may be brought to intensive care in a single day.

An appeal to parents

Medical staff noted that such seizures occur especially often during the spread of seasonal viral illnesses. In their view, before blaming the doctor, one should take into account the condition in which the patient was brought to the clinic and what measures the parents had taken since the onset of the illness. 'Sometimes parents, seeing that the child's condition is worsening, still wait at home, try to treat the child themselves, or use various folk remedies. In fact, a person's life comes above all else. At the first signs of illness, one should consult a specialist,' said the clinic employee.