US Doctor’s Child Injured by Phenytoin in Scotland
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- Leela experienced a prolonged febrile seizure at a tertiary children’s hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Phenytoin was administered by the Scottish emergency team for status epilepticus, later causing an extravasation injury in Leela’s foot.
- United States pediatric emergency departments typically use fosphenytoin rather than phenytoin for status epilepticus because it is less toxic to tissue.
- Phenytoin extravasation can lead to severe tissue necrosis and, in rare cases, limb loss, especially in infants during active seizures.
Why it matters: Parents and clinicians across borders see how drug choice affects outcomes, while infants risk severe injury from phenytoin extravasation, emphasizing that health‑care systems are judged by their response to errors.
