Despina Theotokatos, a pediatrician specializing in the Children’s ICU of the “Panagiotis and Aglaia Kyriakou” hospital, expressed absolute certainty that ketamine was not administered to Georgina during the desperate resuscitation that took place when she suffered the fatal attack, in her testimony at the trial of Roula Pispirigou.

The witness was part of the team of doctors that was appointed when the little girl suffered the setback that cut the thread of her life on January 29, 2022: “We went down in 2-3 minutes. We went inside and saw the pediatrician doing CPR, we approached and took over the resuscitation task. The child was pale, the pupils in mydriasis, no spontaneous breathing, we heard about 30-40 pulsations. Adrenaline was started every five minutes, secretions were present in the mouth, rocuronium was given. Suction had to be done and intubation was done.” The witness said that when the head came out at 20 minutes and informed the mother, he came back and “told us that the mother had the desire to continue the procedure because resuscitation was also done in Patras for 55 minutes”.

President: What is rocuronium?

Witness: Substance for muscle wasting. We give it to children, with a strong neurological picture, who are in a state of emergency.

Chairman: Do you know what drug ketamine is?

Witness: We administer it in the Unit for sedation and analgesia… I did not administer any medicine and I did not hear Mr. Tzouva asking for it to be administered.

President: How is the process?

Witness: We all who are present hear the orders. All narcotics administered are recorded.

Chair: How is ketamine administered?

Witness: This concerns our nurses.

President: What do you remember from the time you entered the room? Do you remember the parents?

Witness: I remember seeing two ladies outside the ward. I didn’t know who mother was and I couldn’t focus on a person.

Chairman: You say in your testimony “there was no medical reason for the administration of ketamine”, what do you mean? Explain it…

Witness: Because the child was in a seizure we didn’t need to give ketamine, when they are in a seizure we don’t administer a drug to suppress it. Administered when a patient must be unresponsive to be intubated.

Answering questions from the defense, which claims that the ICU team administered ketamine to Georgina, the witness repeated that Georgina did not receive, because she did not need, the specific substance. While when asked if a mistake was made by a nurse, the doctor was vertical.

Alexis Kougias: Who administered the adrenaline?

Witness: Unit Nurse.

Alexis Kougias What happens if the nurse makes a mistake?

Witness: The nurses in the Unit are very experienced.

Alexis Kougias: We saw by reading the case file that there is ketamine in the suitcase.

Witness: The suitcase is the same for all the calls we have.

Alexis Kougias: Who renews the medicines?

Witness: The nurses

Alexis Kougias: Where do you get them from?

Witness: There is a pharmacy in the hospital.

The witness pointed out to a question from the defense that adrenaline and ketamine are in a different box in the resuscitation kit.

The trial will continue on July 3.