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A local woman is suing Adventist Health to force the hospital to treat her husband with ivermectin, a parasitic disease drug that some have proposed as a treatment for COVID-19.
In a lawsuit filed in Kern County Superior Court, the complainant said her husband was sedated and on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at Adventist Health Bakersfield. She seeks a judge’s order to force the hospital to provide treatment that she says was prescribed by a doctor.
“(The husband) is literally on the verge of death and there (is) no other COVID-19 treatment protocol that the respondent’s hospital can administer to him and (the complainant) does not want her husband to die.” , indicates the trial. “She is doing all she can to give him a chance to survive.”
The Californian does not publish the names of the patient and the complainant in order to protect the family’s medical confidentiality.
The lawsuit says Dr See-Ruern Kitt prescribed the patient ivermectin, but the hospital did not administer the treatment, claiming it is outside of hospital protocols and would not help.
Ivermectin, a drug approved to treat parasitic diseases in humans and animals, has gained prominence as a proposed cure for COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that prescriptions for the drug have increased 24-fold since the start of the pandemic, reaching 88,000 per week on August 13.
National health authorities say there is no conclusive evidence to support claims that ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19.
In fact, the United States Food and Drug Administration openly warns against taking large doses of ivermectin because of the risk of serious side effects, including death. In July, poison control centers across the country reported a five-fold increase in drug-related calls, according to the CDC.
The two national health authorities say the most effective method of preventing coronavirus infection is to get vaccinated. Unlike ivermectin, the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the FDA for the prevention of COVID-19, and it has issued emergency use authorizations for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Yet the complainant’s family appear to view ivermectin as a source of hope in an increasingly bleak situation. The lawsuit says all of the treatments given so far have failed to improve the 66-year-old man, who suffers from high blood pressure – a risk factor for complications from COVID-19 – as well as hypercholesterolemia and hyperthyroidism.
After “exhausting all options,” the lawsuit says, the husband’s condition worsened to the point where medical staff advised the complainant and her children to go to the hospital to say goodbye.
The plaintiff offered to sign a form releasing the hospital and its staff from all responsibility for administering ivermectin, according to the lawsuit.
Lawyer Nathan Hodges, who represents the family, did not return a request for comment on Thursday. Neither does Dr. Kitt. The complainant could not be reached for comment.
Adventist Health said in a statement it could not comment on the situation due to the litigation.
“Our hearts are with our patients and their loved ones who are fighting this devastating virus,” the statement read.
A case management conference was held in Bakersfield on Thursday. A second conference is scheduled for next March, according to the Court’s website.
Sam Morgen can be reached at 661-395-7415. Follow him on Twitter: @smorgenTBC.
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Sources 2/ https://www.bakersfield.com/news/bakersfield-woman-sues-adventist-to-force-ivermectin-covid-treatment/article_870d1478-1cca-11ec-8863-67bdccbe85c6.html The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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