Police Probe Death of Pregnant Teen After Repeated Hospital Discharges in Santa Catarina

Overview

• Civil Police said records from Hospital Santo Antônio list severe dengue and sent the case for forensic analysis expected next week.
• The 18-year-old, seven months pregnant, sought care at Hospital Beatriz Ramos four times from March 30 to April 1 and was released each time without a firm diagnosis.
• Family members report March 31 tests showed a drop in platelets and urine changes and say a duty doctor suspected dengue, yet the hospital did not admit her.
• Her condition worsened on April 2, she was transferred by SAMU to the referral hospital already intubated, and an emergency cesarean followed in which the baby died before the mother also died.
• The hospital in Indaial opened a technical review under national medical protocols, and investigators will evaluate possible imprudence, negligence, or error, with exhumation left open if reports are inconclusive.