Queensland baby was sent home with Panadol despite her mum fearing she had meningitis – only to be diagnosed with the deadly virus 48 hours later

A mother whose baby was discharged from hospital on Panadol despite classic symptoms of meningitis is warning parents to ‘stand up for their children’.

Shiva Motlagh-Elbakri took her then four-month-old daughter Mytilini to Queensland Children’s Hospital in June 2022 on the advice of their GP.

The child had also arched her back and stiffened every time her mother had tried to put her in her stroller or change her diaper – which are symptoms of meningitis.

Mytilini had been suffering from a respiratory virus for the past twelve days, but was not getting better and was screaming in pain. This prompted her mother to go to the doctor, who discovered that she had a fever of 39.1 degrees.

‘WI arrived at about 3pm (at QCH) and she was given Panadol which lowered the fever. She finally went to see a doctor at 6pm and then until we were discharged at 7.15pm,” Ms Motlagh-Elbakri told Daily Mail Australia.

Despite her concerns, she said the hospital only took a urine sample and told her that babies with meningitis should have a bulging fontanelle, which are soft spots on a baby’s head.

Because Mytilini did not have this symptom, her mother was told it must just be a virus.

“From what I know now, that is a late sign and there are specific reasons for babies that age not to have a bulging fontanel due to gravity,” Ms Motlagh-Elbakri said.

She said she was told that a hospital cannot give a lumbar puncture, which would determine whether a patient has meningitis, to every baby who has a fever.

“But the thing is, that’s wrong,” she said.

“There are specific guidelines from Queensland Health… according to the guidelines they should have given her a lumbar puncture.”

Mytilini did not improve over the next few days and became very lethargic.

When her mother felt her head in the bed, she discovered that her fontanel was bulging “like an egg.”

They rushed back to QCH, where Mytilini was immediately treated with IV antibiotics and made a full recovery.

“I will always be grateful to the doctors who saved my girl’s life that night, and to the infectious disease doctors and pediatric team who treated her as she slowly recovered over the next 12 days,” Ms Motlagh-Elbakri said.

‘I am grateful for every second I now have with my daughter. I know she was truly lucky in her recovery, and I recognize that not every family will have that experience.”

A Queensland Health spokesperson said: ‘This matter has been investigated three times (including two external reviews – one by the Office of the Health Ombudsmen) and all reviews found no fault with the care provided by Queensland Children’s Hospital.’

But the doting mother of two – she and her husband Ahmed also have a son 11 months older than Mytilini – is unwilling to let it go.

‘I really believe she had meningitis the first time and I want to understand why because I really want to make sure this doesn’t happen again. “I didn’t think it was a coincidence,” she said.

In a letter sent by Ms Motlagh-Elbakri to Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman, she said her daughter was “treated 48 hours later than she should have been”.

‘The signs were really there, and I told the doctors at QCH, but they didn’t listen to me. My concerns were not taken seriously.”

She also claimed Queensland health guidelines were not being properly followed.

But Mrs. Fentiman told it 7News that ‘the advice from those reviews (was) that the care was appropriate at the time.’

Ms Motlagh-Elbakri has now appealed to Queensland’s health ombudsman because she fears what happened to her daughter will happen to other children and the outcome could be much worse.

“I really don’t want this to happen to other families,” she said.

As well as campaigning on the issue (October 5 is World Meningitis Day), Ms Motlagh-Elbakri also lives with the ongoing fear of the long-term effects meningitis could have on Mytilene.

“Every day I worry about the impact this delayed treatment will have on her future,” she said.

‘There is more than a fifty percent chance that she will develop a learning, cognitive or behavioral problem as a result.’

Ms Motlagh-Elbakri advises other parents who may be in a similar situation to ‘advocate for your child’.

“If you think he or she is not behaving normally, make that very clear (to the doctors) because you know your child best… a baby cannot talk (for itself).”

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Fentiman for further comment.