Published on
updated on
Reading 3 min.
in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
Medical validation:
October 31, 2024
In Montpellier, a young woman died following acute meningitis. According to those close to him, the Samu did not take his distress seriously. How to explain such a dysfunction? The response from Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo.
This is a chilling news story. Despite several calls to 15 and 18, a 25-year-old young woman died from acute meningitis, just two hours after her admission to the emergency room.
Very late treatment in the emergency room
The facts date back to October 15, 2024. A 25-year-old woman, resident in Montpellier, tries to contact Samu to describe her symptoms. According to her best friend, who was by her side, the young woman “is in very bad shape“.
“My friend called me at 2 p.m., saying she had been vomiting all night and had a high fever. When I arrived at 3:11 p.m., I actually noticed that she was really not doing well, I was very worried“, she will confirm to our confreresActu.fr.
Shortly after, the young woman managed to contact the Samu, who did not take her friend’s condition seriously, even though she was suffering and unable to move.
“Calm down, lady, calm down, drink water with sugar and you’ll be fine“, we will tell him.
The young woman’s condition quickly deteriorated. She has “trouble breathing“, “phas stools with blood-red fluid“, can no longer”move your legs“, And “has a rigid hand with inability to move the fingers“. Spots start appearing all over his body.
Transported to the hospital at 4:56 p.m. (the time when her friends finally found a vehicle), she ended up being taken into the emergency room of the Saint-Roch polyclinic at 5:30 p.m. But it’s already too late.
“The emergency doctors at the polyclinic tried to resuscitate her and due to her condition, decided to transfer her to absolute emergency at the Montpellier University Hospital. We quickly learned of his death.” deplores the victim’s friend, still Actu.fr.
Revolted, she confided that her best friend, her confidante “was left abandoned by those who are supposed to protect us, despite my repeated calls to the 15th and 18th, no doctor, neither from Smur, nor from Sdis 34, no ambulance for several hours “.
Since this incident, an investigation has been opened by the Montpellier public prosecutor’s office, confirms The Parisian. A complaint was filed for “failure to assist a person in danger“.
Why is vigilance essential?
Meningococcal meningitis is a serious disease, causing the death of one in ten people and leading to serious disabling and irreversible after-effects in one in five survivors, such as amputation, deafness, epilepsy, cognitive disorders or anxiety.
Large gatherings, such as sporting events, concerts or festivals increase the risk of transmission, especially in closed or poorly ventilated spaces.
Symptoms of meningitis can appear suddenly and deteriorate quickly: high fever, headache, neck stiffness, vomiting or rash. Faced with these signs, emergency medical treatment is crucial.
In France, there is an effective way to protect yourself against this disease: vaccination. Since March 2024, the HAS has recommended vaccination against serogroups A, C, W, Y for adolescents and young adults.
Advice from Dr Gérald Kierzek to prevent these tragedies
If this tragedy illustrates the delicate mission of regulatory doctors and the lack of resources available to professionals, the medical director of Doctissimo wishes to recall the good practices to adopt to try to prevent such incidents. First of all, identify the symptoms in time.
“It is important to spot the symptoms of bacterial meningitis, in particular to be able to call for help very quickly. The challenge is in fact to make the diagnosis as quickly as possible to implement treatment (antibiotics if the meningitis bacterial is confirmed). Unfortunately these symptoms are sometimes banal and can be confused with other benign and frequent pathologies at the moment.“, he warns.
In adults or children capable of expressing themselves, this involves:
- Headaches;
- Nausea;
- Vomiting;
- Fever ;
- Neck stiffness;
- Hypersensitivity to light (we speak of photophobia);
- Spots (purpura) on the body, “inconsistent and difficult to spot, especially by telephone to the SAMU“, warns the medical director of Doctissimo.
In the case of the young woman, “The investigation must clarify the circumstances but in general the flow of calls to the SAMU is increasing, the resources (effectors such as doctors, ambulances, etc.) are decreasing, making the exercise particularly perilous with possible errors. Recently, dissuading patients from going to the emergency room without calling 15 (filtering) further complicates the situation. My message: once again, in case of doubt, worsening, concern: go to the emergency room if your doctor is not available“, he declares.