Doctors at the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi issued a death certificate for a newborn baby who was still alive.
According to the parents, the baby was born a day earlier in critical condition. Doctors declared the infant dead and even noted on the death certificate that the body had been handed over to the family.
However, when the parents received the baby, they noticed the child was breathing. The newborn was seen inhaling while an oxygen mask was attached. Realizing the baby was alive, the hospital staff then shifted the child to a ventilator.
Hospital management later stated that the baby appeared to be suffering from Lazarus syndrome, a rare condition in which breathing becomes extremely faint and may momentarily stop, giving the impression of death. The administration added that an inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
Officials said that whoever is found responsible for the premature issuance of the death certificate will face action.
Lazarus syndrome, or the Lazarus phenomenon, is a rare medical situation in which a person’s heartbeat and circulation suddenly return on their own after doctors have stopped CPR and declared them dead.
Doctors think it can happen because of things like a delayed effect of medicines given during resuscitation or changes in pressure inside the chest once CPR and ventilation stop, which can suddenly allow blood to flow properly again.
In some cases, it may also reflect that extremely weak breathing or pulse wasn’t detected correctly at first, meaning the person wasn’t truly “gone” in the strictest sense.