Medical Team Gives Official Briefing On Status Of BIGBANG’s T.O.P
On June 7, a press briefing was held at 4 p.m. KST to provide an official update regarding BIGBANG’s T.O.P, who is currently being treated at the Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital.
The briefing was attended by professor Lee Deok Hee from the department of emergency medical and health services, professor Kim Yong Jae from the department of neurology, and professor Choi Hee Yeon from the department of mental health services.
Kim Han Soo, the head of public relations, first began by describing how T.O.P arrived at the hospital and said, “He came on June 6, 2017 at 12:34 p.m. KST. He was carried in by three people, with one holding up his upper body while the other two were holding up the lower half of his body.”
He continued to add, “Our emergency medical technicians examined him and found that the patient was between a state of deep sleep and semiconsciousness with contracted pupils and decreased cornea reflection, only showing a reaction to strong stimuli. He was also suffering from respiratory failure due to low levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide. We conducted the necessary emergency medical care as we believed he was in critical condition. He was admitted to the intensive care unit at 4:50 p.m. KST.”
The medical professionals went on to explain, “After conducting a urine test, we concluded that the patient had suffered from respiratory failure due to an overdose of prescribed tranquilizers. We made the decision to treat him in the emergency intensive care unit as his condition led to a high occurrence of apnea, which can require intubation if necessary. We were able to control his carbon dioxide levels but he is still in a state of severe lethargy.”
They added, “We came to the decision that the patient’s condition would require coordination by the departments of neurology and mental health services, and medical consultations were held at 11 a.m. KST and 3 p.m. KST to little success. Once the patient’s condition improves, we will continue his treatment with the department of mental health services.”
Professor Kim Yong Jae explained, “During his medical examination, the patient would open his eyes if given a strong stimuli, but he was unable to concentrate. There are cases in which this may lead to respiratory arrest or brain damage, but we do not believe that this will be the case for this patient.”
Professor Lee Deok Hee explained their plans for treating T.O.P and said, “Currently, we are unable to determine the exact amount of medication that the patient ingested. Recovery time depends on the patient’s age so it’s difficult for us to give an exact time frame. From previous cases, we’ve seen that younger patients with no complications usually recover in approximately a week.” The doctor emphasized, “What is most important is the patient’s mental health.”
T.O.P is currently being treated after being rushed to the hospital. YG Entertainment and the police had both released official statements regarding his condition, and the medical staff made the decision to hold a press briefing following what appeared to be conflicting statements from the police, and T.O.P’s family and agency.
Everything You Need To Know From T.O.P’s Hospital Press Conference
Professors Lee Deok Hee, Kim Yong Jae, and Choi Hee Yeon held a press conference at Ewha Woman’s University Mokdong Hospital about T.O.P’s condition, and Koreaboo has translated their statements.
Summary of Events:
Blood Pressure: 144/108 (Hypertension)
Heart Rate: 128 (Abnormal).
- T.O.P was carried to the hospital by 3 people.
- He was not responsive when he was brought in and only responded by flinching to strong forms of stimuli to his limbs.
- His urine tests showed that he had overdosed on benzodiazepine, a drug used to fight anxiety.
- Tests cannot reveal if he took other drugs, such as the antidepressant he was previously prescribed.
- He was sent to the ICU because of the high level of carbon dioxide in his blood stream, which could have possibly resulted in brain damage within a matter of minutes.
- He has still not fully recovered and is currently unconscious.
- He is being kept in the ICU in order to make sure that his condition does not worsen.
- On average, a healthy person who does not suffer from any other illnesses takes around a week or two to recover from such a state.
- We do not know who gave the police statement yesterday, but the carbon dioxide levels in his blood were at a dangerous level.
The Full Press Conference Translated
T.O.P was brought into the hospital carried by 3 of his companions. One of them was holding his upper body and the other 2 were holding his lower body.
The hospital stated that he was in a state of stupor and deep drowsiness, and only responded to very strong shocks.
He opened his eyes when subjected to high levels of shock, but he was not able to sustain focus or give proper responses for over ten seconds.
His blood pressure and heartbeat were both extremely high. Upon testing, doctors found that his bloodstream was low on oxygen but high in carbon dioxide.
He was sent to the Intensive Care Unit at 4:50 PM. Although the carbon dioxide level in his blood has since decreased, he is still in a state of unconsciousness.
What Drug T.O.P Overdosed On
T.O.P has still not recovered and is currently unconscious. The sedative he took, Benzodiazepine, is prescribed to fight anxiety.
“Benzodiazepine is a type of tranquilizer. Familiar names include Valium and Xanax. Doctors prescribe benzodiazepine medicines to treat anxiety, muscle spasms, sleep disorders, and seizures. Benzodiazepines can be habit-forming and are sometimes used illegally. Frequent or high-dosage use of benzodiazepines can lead to abnormal behavior (such as aggression and hostility) and to dependence on the drug.” — Kaiser Permanente Health
Note: This definition was not part of the Press Conference, but included by @Koreaboo.
It is proper procedure to watch patients who suffer from the side effects of Benzodiazepine at the ICU to make sure they do not suffer from additional symptoms from having high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood stream.
As far as we can tell, he has not gone into this state, but he is still at a stage where a careful eye must be kept on him. This may have caused some confusion, but we will release details in an official report.
T.O.P’s Current Health & Blood Condition
We cannot say exactly how many pills were ingested for [T.O.P] to be in this condition, but we can say he took a lot of pills. He is in a very bad state of consciousness and his blood condition is bad as well.
Although we cannot guarantee how long it will take [for T.O.P] to recover, on average, a healthy person who does not have any other illnesses takes around a week or two to recover.
He is still not breathing properly, but is slowly recovering. We plan to treat him psychologically following standard procedure, but are unable to at the moment due to his unresponsive state.
Besides the benzodiazepine, he is also prescribed to other anti-depressants, but none were identifiable through urine tests.
What Will Happen To T.O.P Next, According To His Doctors
We do not know who gave the police the statement yesterday, but the carbon dioxide levels in his blood were extremely high and at a very dangerous level.
We continued to run tests on him, and although he had not significantly improved, he was gradually coming down to the point that we did not have to take drastic measures.
Not being responsive is a highly alarming situation in a patient, but even someone being very drunk is described as not 100% conscious. Medically, both are sound to describe the situations at hand. We will be more exact with a more concise report to be released afterward.
Source: Koreaboo