KOTA KINABALU: No medications, including the anti-epileptic drug, phenytoin, were given to the late Zara Qairina Mahathir before she arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), the coroner's court was told.
Medical assistant Mohd Faiszal Md Saimi from Kinarut Health Clinic, testified that no drugs were administered during the initial emergency treatment until his team handed Zara Qairina over to personnel at QEH.
"The priority in early emergency treatment for unconscious trauma patients, suspected of having head injuries, is the management of the airway, control of bleeding and circulation, instead of administering medications.
"Administering medication may worsen the victim's condition, such as causing a drop in blood pressure or increased bleeding," Mohd Faiszal, the 69th witness, told coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
On July 16 at about 3.23am, Faiszal responded to an emergency call and arrived at 3.45am at Zara Qairina's school dormitory at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha.
Replying to a question from coordinating officer Sofia Samayan, the 40-year-old said his role as a medical assistant prevented him from prescribing and administering drugs.
Mohd Faiszal said drugs he could prescribe include paracetamol, aspirin, glyceryl trinitrate, oral rehydration salts, and infusion fluids such as 0.9 per cent normal saline.
He also denied administering phenytoin, which is an anti-epileptic drug. The witness said Zara Qairina was unresponsive and did not display any signs of having a seizure.
Questioned further by lawyer Shahlan Jufri about phenytoin, Mohd Faiszal said the drug similar to diazepam, is a controlled medicine that can only be prescribed by medical officers.
"Phenytoin, according to the guidelines, is kept at health clinics.
"But for seizure cases, the first choice is diazepam. Phenytoin is the last-line drug for uncontrolled seizure cases, such as when the patient remains in a state of seizure for over five minutes or has repetitive seizures despite being given diazepam."
The witness said the public could also buy phenytoin in tablet or capsule form from pharmacies with a prescription from medical officers or specialists.
Shahlan is representing Zara Qairina's mother in the inquest.
The post-mortem toxicology report for Zara Qairina indicated that traces of phenytoin were found in her kidney.
In previous proceedings, neither the QEH Emergency and Trauma Department medical officer nor the neurosurgeon who attended to Zara Qairina testified to administering phenytoin during their respective shifts.
Zara Qairina, 13, was found unconscious on the ground floor of her hostel before being pronounced dead the following day, on July 17, 2025, at the hospital.
The inquest will resume on Thursday.
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