Hepatitis C could have contributed to death of 5th patient, says SGH

SINGAPORE — Hepatitis C virus infection could have been a contributing factor in the death of a fifth patient affected by the outbreak at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

In a update today (Oct 19), the hospital said that the medical review committee chaired by an external senior hepatologist has completed its investigation and found that the patient died from end-stage renal disease and pneumonia but hepatitis C infection could not be ruled out as a contributing factor in the death.

When it broke the news of the outbreak on Oct 6, SGH had said four of the eight deaths among the 22 patients affected are possibly linked to hepatitis C infection. The hospital had also said a fifth death was under review then. Its update today refers to this patient.

Professor Fong Kok Yong, chairman of SGH’s Medical Board, said: “The committee concluded that the patient passed away from end-stage renal disease and pneumonia. While the death was not caused directly by hepatitis C virus, the committee could not rule out the possibility that hepatitis C virus infection could have been a contributing factor.”

Separately, SGH said the results of 484 patients it has screened have turned up negative.

The test results for 88 other patients are pending while the hospital said last Saturday that it was still trying to reach eight patients who had stayed in its renal ward from January to June this year.

Apart from the eight deaths reported when the news broke, another 30 of the 678 patients who stayed in the ward have died since they were discharged but hepatitis C has been ruled out as a contributing cause after a review of the patients’ medical histories.

Most of these patients were terminally ill and were discharged to spend their last days at home or in a palliative care setting. Many had end-stage renal disease, with some opting for no further intervention, said SGH then.

All 294 hospital employees screened have also tested negative.