by Cary McNeal
Bad Medicine.
Really, Really,
Really Bad
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651
FACT : A recent report from the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine estimates that hospitals make preventable medical errors that kill as many as 98,000 people each year—more than cancer, AIDS, and auto accidents. And not nearly as fun.
Tamar Nordenberg, “Make No Mistake: Medical Errors Can Be Deadly Serious,” FDA Consumer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September-October 2000, www.fda.gov.
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652
FACT : Patients who endure errors in treatment while in hospital care typically face a one in four chance of death from the mistake. Which means the staff who make the mistakes face a three in four chance of getting their asses kicked.
Tamar Nordenberg, “Make No Mistake: Medical Errors Can Be Deadly Serious,” FDA Consumer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September-October 2000, www.fda.gov.
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653
FACT : Almost 250,000 patients studied by independent research group Health-Grades from 2003 and 2005 were killed by preventable problems. The medical professionals at fault have kindly agreed to apologize to any of the patients they accidentally killed.
Tamar Nordenberg, “Make No Mistake: Medical Errors Can Be Deadly Serious,” FDA Consumer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September-October 2000, www.fda.gov.
Dan Childs, “Medical Errors, Past and Present,” ABC News, November 27, 2007, www.abcnews.com.
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654
FACT : In 2007, a New York fertility doctor made headlines for accidentally using the wrong man’s sperm to inseminate a woman’s eggs. The Hispanic woman and her white husband realized the mistake upon giving birth to an African-American baby. Subsequent DNA tests confirmed that the baby was indeed another man’s. Thank goodness they got those DNA tests. They might never have known for sure.
Todd Venezia, “Black Baby Is Born to White Pair,” New York Post, March 22, 2007.
Naomi Cahn, Test Tube Families: Why the Fertility Market Needs Legal Regulation (NYU Press, 2009), 68.
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655
FACT : According to Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates, 1.5 million patients suffer each year because of mistakes made with medicine they are given in hospitals. Yeah, like the time my doctor gave me Flomax instead of Flovent. For a week, every time I coughed, I peed my pants.
Dan Childs, “Medical Errors, Past and Present,” ABC News, November 27, 2007, www.abcnews.com.
Tamar Nordenberg, “Make No Mistake: Medical Errors Can Be Deadly Serious,” FDA Consumer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September-October 2000, www.fda.gov.
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656
FACT : The IOM also estimates that 50 percent of bad reactions to medicine result from errors in how they are administered. Common causes are “environmental factors such as lighting, heat, noise, and interruptions that can distract health professionals from their medical tasks,” says The American Hospital Association. Lighting? Heat? Noise? At least they aren’t easily distracted.
Dan Childs, “Medical Errors, Past and Present,” ABC News, November 27, 2007, www.abcnews.com.
Tamar Nordenberg, “Make No Mistake: Medical Errors Can Be Deadly Serious,” FDA Consumer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September-October 2000, www.fda.gov.
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657
FACT : A leading cause of drug-related errors is name confusion. For example, the arthritis drug Celebrex is often confused with the anticonvulsant Cerebyx and the antidepressant Celexa. Prescribing the wrong drug based on name confusion can be fatal. So if you or someone you know takes the prescription drugs Nyacide or Larsenic, you might want to double check your medicine before taking it.
Tamar Nordenberg, “Make No Mistake: Medical Errors Can Be Deadly Serious,” FDA Consumer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September-October 2000, www.fda.gov.
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658
FACT : A seventeen-year-old girl named Jésica Santillán died in 2003 after she received a heart and lung transplant from a patient whose blood type was not a match. Doctors at the Duke University Medical Center did not check compatibility, and transplanted organs from a type-A donor to Santillán, whose blood was type-O. “On the bright side,” said one Duke official, “she wasn’t on the basketball team.”
Carol Kopp, “Anatomy Of A Mistake,” 60 Minutes, CBSNews.com, September 7, 2003, www.cbsnews.com.
Tom Baker, The Medical Malpractice Myth (University of Chicago Press, 2007), 4.
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659
FACT : Doctors from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence performed brain surgery on the incorrect side of three patients’ heads in 2007. Two of the mistakes caused no serious damage, but one led to the patient’s death. The hospital paid $50,000 in fines and faced reprimand by the state Department of Health. Okay then, as long as they were reprimanded.
Associated Press, “Third Wrong-Sided Brain Surgery at R.I. Hospital,” MSNBC.com, November 27, 2007, www.msnbc.msn.com.
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660
FACT : In 2006, surgeons at a Los Angeles V.A. hospital removed the healthy right testicle of a forty-seven-year-old man by mistake. There were several botched steps leading to the surgery which resulted in the error, including a mistake on the consent form and forgetting to mark the surgical site before the procedure. That’s just nuts.
Julia Hallisy, The Empowered Patient: Hundreds of Life-Saving Facts, Action Steps and Strategies You Need to Know (The Empowered Patient, 2007), 119.
“SoCal Vet Claims Wrong Testicle Removed In Surgery,” CBS5.com, April 5, 2007, www.cbs5.com.
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661
FACT : A Tampa, Florida surgeon removed the incorrect leg of a fifty-two-year-old patient by mistake during amputation in 1995. The team realized their error mid-procedure, but too late in the process to save the leg. Wanna get away?
“Florida Hospital Surgeons Mistakenly Amputate Wrong Leg of Patient,” Jet, March 20, 1995, www.findarticles.com.
Robert M. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2007), 58.
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662
FACT : In a 2002 case, a woman was admitted to a teaching hospital for a cerebral angiography procedure. After, the hospital transferred her to another floor. The next morning she was mistakenly taken in for open-heart surgery. “Students, today we’re going to learn about malpractice suits.”
Robert M. Wachter, Lee Goldman, and Harry Hollander, Hospital Medicine, 2nd ed. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005), 152.
Mark R. Chassin and Elise C. Becher, “The Wrong Patient,” Annals of Internal Medicine, June 4, 2002, 826–833, www.annals.org.
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663
FACT : A laboratory mix-up prompted a thirty-five-year-old woman on Long Island, New York to have both of her healthy breasts removed unnecessarily in 2006. Her doctor told her the diagnoses. She sought a second opinion, but the next doctor relied on the same set of erroneous records as the first and reiterated her cancer diagnosis. The two boobs were removed. From the hospital staff, that is.
Dan Childs, “Medical Errors, Past and Present,” November 27, 2007, ABC News, www.abcnews.com.
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664
FACT : In June 2000, a man was admitted to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle to have a tumor removed. Doctors removed the growth, but left a 13" retractor in the patient’s abdomen when they sewed him up—the fifth documented case of University of Washington surgeons leaving a medical instrument inside a patient after surgery. Free parting gift for all surgery patients!
Carol Smith, “Surgical Tools Left in Five Patients,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, www.seattlepi.nwsource.com.
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665
FACT : A minister was admitted to a hospital in West Virginia in 2006 for exploratory abdominal surgery to diagnose the cause of pain.
An anesthesiologist gave him drugs to prevent his muscles from twitching during surgery, but not general anesthesia until after the first incision. The patient felt excruciating pain but was unable to move or communicate.
I bet he communicated once the anesthesia wore off.
Associated Press, “Family Sues after Man Gets Wide-Awake Surgery,” MSNBC.com, www.msnbc.msn.com.
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666
FACT : In 2007, actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins nearly died after receiving an overdose of a blood-thinning drug, Heparin, at a Los Angeles hospital. Three premature babies were killed in Indianapolis in 2006 due to a similar mistake, where nurses administered Heparin for adults instead of Hep-lock for children. The medications were stocked in the wrong cabinet. I bet no one at the hospital got his autograph after that.
Dan Childs, “Medical Errors, Past and Present,” November 27, 2007, ABC News, www.abcnews.com.
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667
FACT : While being treated for breast cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in 1994, two women received poisonous quantities of chemotherapy. Instead of receiving a daily dose of a powerful anticancer drug for four days, the doctor incorrectly prescribed four days worth of the drug to be administered each day. One patient, a thirty-nine-year-old medical reporter for the Boston Globe named Betsy Lehman died; the second endured irrevocable heart damage and died from cancer several months later. The formerly prestigious Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Tamar Nordenberg, “Make No Mistake: Medical Errors Can Be Deadly Serious,” FDA Consumer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September-October 2000, www.fda.gov.
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668
FACT : The drug Mirapex (pramipexole), developed in 1997 to treat Parkinson’s disease, also works in treating patients with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), but it can cause amnesia. Amnesia is also a possible side effect of taking some cholesterol-lowering medications like Lipitor. I get RLS at school board meetings when some parent launches into a rant. My leg starts twitching because it wants to get up and kick that person in the ass.
Diane S. Aschenbrenner and Samantha J. Venable, Drug Therapy in Nursing, 3rd ed. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008).
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669
FACT : Some researchers and physicians believe that Mirapex leads to compulsive behaviors in some patients, turning occasional drinkers into alcoholics, casual card gamers or sports fans into compulsive gamblers, and otherwise normal people into hypersexuals, shopaholics, and binge eaters. I don’t know, that sounds kind of fun. I should ask my doctor if Mirapex is right for me.
Allyson T. Collins, “Strange Side Effects Surprise Patients,” ABC News, July 15, 2008, www.abcnews.com.
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670
FACT : Patients who use Lipitor (atorvastatin) can be plagued by pain and weakness in their muscles, even to the point of loss of muscle control and coordination. Some patients have filed lawsuits against Lipitor’s maker, Pfizer, stating the drug causes permanent muscle damage, nerve damage, and memory loss. The suit was dropped when the patients forgot they were suing Pfizer and failed to show up for court.
The PDR Pocket Guide to Prescription Drugs, 6th ed. (Simon & Schuster, 2003), 76.
Aaron Smith, “Pfizer Sued Over Alleged Lipitor Side Effects,” June 8, 2006, CNNmoney, www.cnnmoney.com.
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671
FACT : The drug Vasotec (enalapril) was developed to lower high blood pressure and treat congestive heart failure, but it can also have a detrimental effect on almost all of your senses, including loss of smell and taste, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), blurred vision, and dry eyes. Dying has a detrimental effect on the senses, too, so take your pick.
“Vasotec: Drug Description,” RxList, www.rxlist.com.
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672
FACT : Viagra (sildenafil), a treatment for erectile dysfunction, can cause blurred vision and problems distinguishing between green and blue.
Researchers suspect that Viagra users are at risk for permanent loss of vision because the drug cuts off the flow of blood from the optic nerve, a condition called nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). I wonder where all that blood goes instead?
“About Viagra,” Viagra.com, www.viagra.com.
“Viagra Can Cause Permanent Vision Loss in Some Men, University of Minnesota Researchers Say,” Medical News Today, March 31, 2005, www.medicalnewstoday.com.
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673
FACT : Xenical (orlistat) prevents the body from absorbing fat, decreasing the caloric intake of users.
Test trials showed that up to 30 percent of ingested fat was excreted unabsorbed by subjects. Side effects of the drug include “gas with oily discharge, an increased number of bowel movements, an urgent need to have them, and an inability to control them.” Which is why Xenical’s street name is “White Castle.”
“Important Safety Information,”
Xenical.com, www.xenical.com.
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674
FACT : Lariam (mefloquine), a malaria drug administered to American servicemen overseas, is believed to be the cause of some soldiers’ suicidal tendencies. It is known to cause “neuropsychiatric adverse events.” Even Lariam’s maker, Roche Pharmaceuticals, warns, “Some patients taking Lariam think about killing themselves.” Other patients taking Lariam think about killing people at Roche Pharmaceuticals.
David Kohn, “The Dark Side Of Lariam,” CBS News, January 29, 2003, www.cbsnews.com.
Associated Press, “Hallucinations Linked to Drug Given to Troops,” MSNBC.com, February 14, 2005, www.msnbc.msn.com.
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675
FACT : Many patients have reported suicidal thoughts while taking the antidepressant Paxil (paroxetine). Lawsuits allege Paxil has severe withdrawal symptoms that, in some, resulted in suicide and attempted suicide. Evidence in one lawsuit shows GlaxoSmithKline, the drug’s manufacturer, might have concealed data linking the drug to these effects. “Paxil. I’d rather die than switch.”
“FDA Statement Regarding the Anti-Depressant Paxil for Pediatric Population,” FDA Talk Paper, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, June 19, 2003, www.fda.gov.
“Glaxo Sued for ‘Drug Claim Fraud’,” BBCNews.com, June 2, 2004, www.howstuffworks.com.
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676
FACT : Over 40 suicides and 400 suicide attempts are linked to Chantix (varenicline), an anti-smoking drug. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has come under attack for recruiting soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as subjects in tests on Chantix after the FDA issued warnings about the drug’s possible violent side effects. They never said how Chantix stopped people from smoking, just that it could.
Maddy Sauer and Vic Walter, “Tough Questions for VA on Suicide-Linked Chantix,” ABC News, July 8, 2008, www.abcnews.com.
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677
FACT : The drug thalidomide is infamous for its link to birth defects. Though never proven to be safe, the drug was a popular sleeping aid and anti-nausea pill in the 1950s, taken by thousands of pregnant women around the world. From 1956 to 1962, almost 10,000 women who were administered thalidomide delivered babies with phocomelia, a congenital disorder that causes children to be born with extremely short or missing limbs. I’m guessing their nausea and insomnia returned after those births.
Michael J. O’Dowd, The History of Medications for Women: Materia Medica Woman (Informa Health Care, 2001), 249.
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FACT : Accutane (isotretinoin), a drug used to treat severe acne, also has been linked to phocomelia.
Women taking the drug have to adhere to a strict regimen to prevent becoming pregnant, including two methods of birth control and a required monthly blood test for pregnancy before a prescription refill is approved. It’s actually three methods of birth control, including the acne.