One of the first Russian doctors to treat Navalna presented his version

Initially in Russia, Kremlin critic Alexei Navaln was treated for suspected poisoning, but doctors changed their minds six hours after receiving laboratory tests that showed no traces of toxic substances on his body. This information was revealed by one of the doctors who treated the opposition. Disagreements over why Navaln, 44, lost consciousness on the plane last month, increase tensions between Russia and Germany, where he is now being treated. The Russians deny Berlin’s accusations that the critic was poisoned by the nerve paralyzing substance Novičiok, created in the Soviet Union. Alexander Sabayev, the chief toxicologist at the Siberian hospital, one of the first doctors to treat Navalna, said he suspected poisoning from the beginning and applied appropriate treatment to his colleagues.

„The initial diagnosis is a coma caused by unclear causes. Acute poisoning was the version considered. We didn’t know exactly. They took him off the plane on suspicion of poisoning. I won’t say what material, but there was so much suspicion. Suppose certain neurotoxins. As a result, the patient was transferred from the airport to the Poison Control Center. “ said chief of toxicology Alexander Sabayev.

Similar steps are being taken in treating the Novičiok victims, a doctor familiar with the results of the German clinic’s investigation revealed to Reuters. However, Sabayev claimed that the results of the investigation carried out in the Russian laboratories convincingly showed that the opposition was not poisoned. The chief toxicologist now believes that politics has been plagued by a serious metabolic disorder.

„After the patient spent six hours in the hospital, the diagnosis of “acute poisoning” was rejected. We decided that the sudden loss of consciousness was caused by non-toxic substances. The chemical and toxicological analysis was carried out by three independent laboratories. I emphasize that the analysis was carried out even outside our hospital. These laboratories are of a very high level “, – said chief toxicologist Alexander Sabayev

Treatment began immediately and the pilot’s decision to land immediately in Omsk when Navaln crashed into a plane flying to Moscow helped save the Kremlin critic, two medical sources said. Sabayev told Reuters that doctors at his hospital had injected three milligrams of atropine into Navalnas. According to the toxicologist, this preparation was used to eliminate the opponent’s lung dysfunction.

„Toxic substances begin to break down the internal organs, but in this case, the liver, kidneys and lungs, which perform the function of removing the poison, were intact. These organs would have been destroyed mainly by the poison, since they are responsible for detoxifying the body. “ – said chief of toxicology Alexander Sabayev.

Although Sabayev does not agree with the findings of the German doctors, the decision to inject atropine, which is widely used in medicine, turned out to be appropriate even if the drug was injected for other reasons and the dose was low. The Novičiok group’s nerve paralyzing substances cause a number of fatal effects, including slowing the heart rate, fluid build-up in the lungs, and long-term nerve damage. Atropine is one of the main drugs used to stop these side effects.

A. Sabajev believes that A. Navalnas had a metabolic disorder because the blood sugar level was four times higher than normal and the pancreas was not working properly.

„We consider whether he could have been poisoned by organophosphate compounds, be it Novičiok or another poisonous substance. We were interested in the group of organophosphate substances in general. This was the starting point of our diagnosis. And this was the result of the first laboratory tests: no organophosphate substances were detected in the body. In fact, we feared such results, given the patient’s performance and the constant insistence of his colleagues to consider possible poisoning. They practically decided for us that A. Navalnas was poisoned. How will you make a different diagnosis? That is why we look for poison, we follow the comments of their colleagues and relatives ”,
– said chief of toxicology Alexander Sabayev.

Other health professionals in Omsk disagree with the diagnosis.

Navaln, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was brought to Germany last month for treatment. Before boarding the plane, in which he lost consciousness, he drank a cup of tea that his supporters said was poisoned.

Sabayev revealed that the prediction of the poisoning was made by a team of ambulance workers from Omsk. Only after three studies in independent laboratories, the results of which showed that there were no poisons or toxins in the man’s body, did doctors reject the poisoning version, the chief toxicologist said.

The equipment used in one of Omsk’s non-hospital laboratories is “professional”, made in the United States and technologically capable of detecting traces of Novičiok, Sabajev said.

Dr Peter Chai, an emergency physician at Birmingham Women’s Hospital and an assistant to Harvard Medical School, said it should have been difficult for Russian doctors to quickly detect Novičiok’s remains in Navaln’s body.

The problem is that there are several versions of Novičiok, the information on many of them is not publicly available, so the exact chemical structure of the toxic substance can only be known by the staff of various laboratories for the development of highly secret chemical weapons. .

Sabayev said he was willing to share the results of 60 studies in digital format with his colleagues.

2018 In the UK, Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by Noviciok. Then residues of this toxic substance were found in several places. One of the policemen died and Dawn Sturgess, a woman, died as a result of its ill effects.