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Interview With Dr. Sandra Fryhofer
Aired October 28, 2002 - 14:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now to talk more about that gas and its effect on the hostages and what it might have been is Dr. Sandra Fryhofer. Thank you very much for joining us, doctor.
DR. SANDRA FRYHOFER, INTERNIST: Thanks, Marty.
SAVIDGE: I know this has got to be the talk of the medical profession in this weekend after, and what may have been used. What are you hearing from your medical people?
FRYHOFER: Well, the big question is what was in that gas, and certainly as a health professional, it's so upsetting that the Russian officials didn't tell the doctors taking care of these hostages and others what was in it.
Now, if you think about it, it had to be very potent. It had to work very quickly, and it had to be odorless, because if it had not been odorless, then the people, the rebels in there would have known something was going on and they would have blown up things, I'm sure, once they figured out something was awry. But what was in that gas is the big question.
SAVIDGE: Well, from those that you talked to, especially anesthesiologists, do think they think that this was some sort of regular, off-the-shelf type gas?
FRYHOFER: Well, Marty, it's interesting that you ask that. I actually talked to some of the radiologists at my hospital, and this is the talk in the doctor's lounge. And many of them think it might have been some sort of nerve gas.
We had heard earlier that it was some sort of opiate-like substance, but the anesthesiologists really didn't buy that. If you think about it, it has to be something that can be put in the gas form, and, again, it has to be something that's odorless, something that's going to work quickly, and some of these opiate-like gases that would be odorless, you'd have to fill the air in the theater, which is a lot of air -- 70 percent full with this gas in order for it to work. So very unlikely.
But what that gas is we don't know. It could be some sort of new substance that the Russian officials have come up with and they don't want to tell us about, but we do know that they wouldn't tell the doctors who were trying to take care of these patients, and it's probably led to more deaths, and there are a lot of people that still aren't out of the woods. SAVIDGE: And I presume part of the problem is that when administering this gas, everybody would react differently, depending on how big they are, maybe even gender, and all the other factors.
FRYHOFER: You got it, Marty. And if you think about it, these people were stressed, both physically and psychologically. They had been without food and water for a couple of days. So they weren't in the best of health. Also, these were -- a lot of these people were just regular theater goers, and they might have had some chronic medical problems that might have put them at increased risk as well.
SAVIDGE: All right, doctor, thank you very much. We appreciate the insight. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 28, 2002 - 14:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now to talk more about that gas and its effect on the hostages and what it might have been is Dr. Sandra Fryhofer. Thank you very much for joining us, doctor.
DR. SANDRA FRYHOFER, INTERNIST: Thanks, Marty.
SAVIDGE: I know this has got to be the talk of the medical profession in this weekend after, and what may have been used. What are you hearing from your medical people?
FRYHOFER: Well, the big question is what was in that gas, and certainly as a health professional, it's so upsetting that the Russian officials didn't tell the doctors taking care of these hostages and others what was in it.
Now, if you think about it, it had to be very potent. It had to work very quickly, and it had to be odorless, because if it had not been odorless, then the people, the rebels in there would have known something was going on and they would have blown up things, I'm sure, once they figured out something was awry. But what was in that gas is the big question.
SAVIDGE: Well, from those that you talked to, especially anesthesiologists, do think they think that this was some sort of regular, off-the-shelf type gas?
FRYHOFER: Well, Marty, it's interesting that you ask that. I actually talked to some of the radiologists at my hospital, and this is the talk in the doctor's lounge. And many of them think it might have been some sort of nerve gas.
We had heard earlier that it was some sort of opiate-like substance, but the anesthesiologists really didn't buy that. If you think about it, it has to be something that can be put in the gas form, and, again, it has to be something that's odorless, something that's going to work quickly, and some of these opiate-like gases that would be odorless, you'd have to fill the air in the theater, which is a lot of air -- 70 percent full with this gas in order for it to work. So very unlikely.
But what that gas is we don't know. It could be some sort of new substance that the Russian officials have come up with and they don't want to tell us about, but we do know that they wouldn't tell the doctors who were trying to take care of these patients, and it's probably led to more deaths, and there are a lot of people that still aren't out of the woods. SAVIDGE: And I presume part of the problem is that when administering this gas, everybody would react differently, depending on how big they are, maybe even gender, and all the other factors.
FRYHOFER: You got it, Marty. And if you think about it, these people were stressed, both physically and psychologically. They had been without food and water for a couple of days. So they weren't in the best of health. Also, these were -- a lot of these people were just regular theater goers, and they might have had some chronic medical problems that might have put them at increased risk as well.
SAVIDGE: All right, doctor, thank you very much. We appreciate the insight. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
