2nd Baby In Heparin OD Cases Dies

Texas Hospital Says Previous Infant Death Was Not Caused By The Blood-Thinning Drug

(CBS/AP)  A second infant has died at a Corpus Christi hospital where an investigation is under way into overdoses of the blood thinner heparin given to as many as 17 babies.

The attorney for the infant girl's parents confirmed that she died Wednesday, a day after her twin brother died. The cause of the infant girl's death has not been determined. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported that hospital officials said the death of the newborn who died Tuesday was not caused by a heparin overdose.

An autopsy was performed on the infant but hospital officials declined to release the results, citing privacy rules.

Christus Spohn Hospital South officials said they could not discuss the second child because they had not received permission from the family.

The newspaper reported that the parents of the twins were granted a temporary restraining order that required the hospital to preserve records related the twins' hospital stay and overdose of the blood thinner heparin.

Attorney Bob Patterson said the twins were born at Christus Spohn Hospital Alice, located just west of Corpus Christi, on July 1, a month premature. They were transferred to Christus Spohn Hospital South the same day because it provides a higher level of care. He said the two began exhibiting symptoms of an infection after their transfer.

Two members of the Christus Spohn Hospital South's pharmacy staff have taken voluntary leave, pending an investigation that could take as long as two weeks, said Christus Spohn Health System spokeswoman Sherry Carr-Deer. State and federal agencies including the Texas Department of Health Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been notified.

Dr. Richard Davis, the hospital's chief medical officer, said in a news release that "the attending neonatologist states that at this point, there are no identifiable adverse affects directly caused by Heparin" among the infants in the neonatal unit. He said the infants still there were in the unit for reasons unrelated to the heparin, he said.

Carr-Deer said as many as 17 babies were given an overdose of the pediatric version of heparin. The hospital identified 14 babies that received an overdose but said it was possible that three others also had before their release. Follow-ups with those babies showed no ill effects, Carr-Deer said. Heparin routinely is used in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit to flush intravenous lines and prevent blood clots from forming.

Carr-Deer said the hospital was not aware of the restraining order and could not comment. The newspaper said the filing also asked the hospital to preserve any unused heparin from the batch.

A preliminary investigation indicates that the error happened during a process July 3 in which pharmacy personnel mixed it with other solutions, including saline.

The heparin first was administered in the neonatal intensive care unit Friday.

The dosing error was discovered by nurses Sunday night, during routine blood work, Carr-Deer told the newspaper.

They discontinued the drug's use immediately and gave newborns who needed it medications to counter its effects.

Emily Palmer, a spokeswoman with the Texas Department of Health Services, said the agency was aware of the situation, but said she could not disclose whether there is a complaint or investigation because of confidentiality rules.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, an independent, nonprofit agency that accredits and certifies more than 15,000 hospitals in the U.S. including those in the Spohn system, was notified, officials said.

In November 2007, actor Dennis Quaid's newborn twins were at the center of a near-fatal drug mix-up in which they were administered 1,000 times the normal dose of Heparin.

"We all have this inherent thing that we trust doctors and nurses, that they know what they're doing. But this mistake occurred right under our noses, that the nurse didn't bother to look at the dosage on the bottle," Quaid told 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft in a March interview. "It was 10 units that our kids are supposed to get. They got 10,000. And what it did is, it basically turned their blood to the consistency of water, where they had a complete inability to clot. And they were basically bleeding out at that point."

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Read The 60 Minutes Interview With Dennis And Kimberly Quaid

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Quaid's children recovered, and he has since testified before Congress in an effort to draw attention to what is one of the leading causes of death in America - preventable human, medical error.

"These mistakes that occurred to us are not unique," he told Kroft.They happen in every hospital, in every state in this country. And 100,000 people, that I've come to find out, there's 100,000 people a year are killed every year in hospitals by a medical mistakes."

The same avoidable mistake had occurred a year earlier at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Six infants were given multiple adult doses of Heparin instead of the pediatric version; three of the infants survived, three did not.

During the past 18 months, there have been roughly 250 medical errors nationwide involving heparin and children a year or younger, according to U.S. Pharmacopeia, the public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements and other health-care products manufactured and sold in the United States.

[Gary Kempf]

An autopsy was performed on the infant but hospital officials declined to release the results, citing privacy rules.

So the same hospital where they died performed the autopsy? Something is wrong here!!

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported that hospital officials said the death of the newborn who died Tuesday was not caused by a heparin overdose.

[sassalin]

My prayers go out to the families that have lost a child.

Looking at the dosage is a very simple action. It takes less then thirty seconds and can save a life.

I urge all nurses and doctors to take the time to double or triple check the dosage.

Just because you have extensive medical training does not mean you are above mistakes.

[andor3]

it is tragic but not uncommon... casualties of our broken health care system... overworked doctors and nurses and staff... insurance companies calling the shots and squeezing every dollar out of the system without regard for adequate patient care...

[buttonjockey]

I got a kick out of the Christus Spohn Health System spokeswoman''s name! "Sherry Carr-Deer"

Normally car and deer don''t go together well.

[hunterdon6]

Hospitals should be outlawed,,,,,they kill way too many people. The people who built these hospitals should be sued!

[uslackjaw]

Hospitals should be outlawed,,,,,they kill way too many people. The people who built these hospitals should be sued!
Posted by hunterdon6

I cast my vote for moronic inbred idiot of the day...

[mainemade]

RUSH RUSH RUSH!! Everybody is in a hurry. These tragic accidents shouldn''t happen. But, they do. Daily. Everywhere. Doctors, nurses, pharmasists are only human. Humans make mistakes. Even God has made mistakes. Mistakes happen. It''s how we humans deal with these mistakes, and whether or not we LEARN from these mistakes to prevent them from ever happening again.

[jd2408]

Where I work once a product is set up for shipping it is double checked by a different person to make sure its right.

This is not even a human life. Why can''t hospitals have some sort of double check system.

It just seems like common sense.

[Marie Zarankevich]

According to the original article, the problem with the Heparin was not the nurses doing, but the pharmacy''s. -- The nurses just did their jobs.

[observer2020]

kelly0501 stop using CBS for your lame free advertisements. You have been reported as an abuser and will, hopefully, be banned.

As for this story, the only reason it has made the news and remains there is because of Dennis Quaid and his little girls. Otherwise, it would have been swept under the rug. My condolences to people who have lost their children due to inattentiveness to what some healthgivers are doing--or not doing. Common sense should now be classified as "uncommon sense." It''s not a gimme anymore.

[hjc64]

They say this was a pharmaceutical mixup.There is now an answer to much of that problem. CDEX INc.has a device in 26 hospitals to date with 35 more contracted and awaiting delivery. and 200 more in various stages of negotiations.with several overseas distributors committed.THe device is called ValiMed and has been beta tested for 18 months by the Univ. of Michigan Motts Pharmacy.
They gave a glowing report of its use, and actually admitted that ValiMed caught 6 potentially lethal mistakes by its pharmacists.
Each liquid medication omits a signature that is picked up by Valimed,and if the mixtures are not exactly within range of the actual signature entered in the ValiMed unit,it will be noted in real time.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures and are increasing by the week,including 7 for heparin solutions.To see more of ValiMed go to the CDEX-INC web site and learn more. While there look at the ID2 meth detector that just hit the market this week,after being tested,improved and reimproved by the State Police of the States of Missouri and Arizona.
If you look in the next few days you may still catch the recent conference call explaining operations and the receipt of enough investment money to kick this company into 4th gear.
.

[hjc64]

They say this was a pharmaceutical mixup.There is now an answer to much of that problem. CDEX INc.has a device in 26 hospitals to date with 35 more contracted and awaiting delivery. and 200 more in various stages of negotiations.with several overseas distributors committed.THe device is called ValiMed and has been beta tested for 18 months by the Univ. of Michigan Motts Pharmacy.
They gave a glowing report of its use, and actually admitted that ValiMed caught 6 potentially lethal mistakes by its pharmacists.
Each liquid medication omits a signature that is picked up by Valimed,and if the mixtures are not exactly within range of the actual signature entered in the ValiMed unit,it will be noted in real time.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures and are increasing by the week,including 7 for heparin solutions.To see more of ValiMed go to the CDEX-INC web site and learn more. While there look at the ID2 meth detector that just hit the market this week,after being tested,improved and re-improved by the State Police of the States of Missouri and Arizona.
If you look in the next few days you may still catch the recent conference call explaining operations and the receipt of enough investment money to kick this company into 4th gear.
One death is to many when there is something out ther that can oversee potential mistakes.

[hjc64]

They say this was a pharmaceutical mixup.There is now an answer to much of that problem. CDEX INc.has a device in 26 hospitals to date with 35 more contracted and awaiting delivery. and 200 more in various stages of negotiations.with several overseas distributors committed.THe device is called ValiMed and has been beta tested for 18 months by the Univ. of Michigan Motts Pharmacy.
They gave a glowing report of its use, and actually admitted that ValiMed caught 6 potentially lethal mistakes by its pharmacists.
Each liquid medication omits a signature that is picked up by Valimed,and if the mixtures are not exactly within range of the actual signature entered in the ValiMed unit,it will be noted in real time.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures and are increasing by the week,including 7 for heparin solutions.To see more of ValiMed go to the CDEX-INC web site and learn more. While there look at the ID2 meth detector that just hit the market this week,after being tested,improved and re-improved by the State Police of the States of Missouri and Arizona.
If you look in the next few days you may still catch the recent conference call explaining operations and the receipt of enough investment money to kick this company into 4th gear.
One death is to many when there is something out ther that can oversee potential mistakes.

[hjc64]

They say this was a pharmaceutical mixup.There is now an answer to much of that problem. CDEX INc.has a device in 26 hospitals to date with 35 more contracted and awaiting delivery. and 200 more in various stages of negotiations.with several overseas distributors committed.THe device is called ValiMed and has been beta tested for 18 months by the Univ. of Michigan Motts Pharmacy.
They gave a glowing report of its use, and actually admitted that ValiMed caught 6 potentially lethal mistakes by its pharmacists.
Each liquid medication omits a signature that is picked up by Valimed,and if the mixtures are not exactly within range of the actual signature entered in the ValiMed unit,it will be noted in real time.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures and are increasing by the week,including 7 for heparin solutions.To see more of ValiMed go to the CDEX-INC web site and learn more. While there look at the ID2 meth detector that just hit the market this week,after being tested,improved and re-improved by the State Police of the States of Missouri and Arizona.
If you look in the next few days you may still catch the recent conference call explaining operations and the receipt of enough investment money to kick this company into 4th gear.
One death is to many when there is something out ther that can oversee potential mistakes.

[hjc64]

They say this was a pharmaceutical mixup.There is now an answer to much of that problem. CDEX INc.has a device in 26 hospitals to date with 35 more contracted and awaiting delivery. and 200 more in various stages of negotiations.with several overseas distributors committed.THe device is called ValiMed and has been beta tested for 18 months by the Univ. of Michigan Motts Pharmacy.
They gave a glowing report of its use, and actually admitted that ValiMed caught 6 potentially lethal mistakes by its pharmacists.
Each liquid medication omits a signature that is picked up by Valimed,and if the mixtures are not exactly within range of the actual signature entered in the ValiMed unit,it will be noted in real time.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures and are increasing by the week,including 7 for heparin solutions.To see more of ValiMed go to the CDEX-INC web site and learn more. While there look at the ID2 meth detector that just hit the market this week,after being tested,improved and re-improved by the State Police of the States of Missouri and Arizona.
If you look in the next few days you may still catch the recent conference call explaining operations and the receipt of enough investment money to kick this company into 4th gear.
One death is to many when there is something out there that can oversee potential mistakes.

[hjc64]

They say this was a pharmaceutical mixup.There is now an answer to much of that problem. CDEX INc.has a device in 26 hospitals to date with 35 more contracted and awaiting delivery. and 200 more in various stages of negotiations.with several overseas distributors committed.THe device is called ValiMed and has been beta tested for 18 months by the Univ. of Michigan Motts Pharmacy.
They gave a glowing report of its use, and actually admitted that ValiMed caught 6 potentially lethal mistakes by its pharmacists.
Each liquid medication omits a signature that is picked up by Valimed,and if the mixtures are not exactly within range of the actual signature entered in the ValiMed unit,it will be noted in real time.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures and are increasing by the week,including 7 for heparin solutions.To see more of ValiMed go to the CDEX-INC web site and learn more. While there look at the ID2 meth detector that just hit the market this week,after being tested,improved and re-improved by the State Police of the States of Missouri and Arizona.
If you look in the next few days you may still catch the recent conference call explaining operations and the receipt of enough investment money to kick this company into 4th gear.
One death is to many when there is something out there that can oversee potential mistakes.

[hjc64]

There is a device out there now that will eliminate most pharmaceutical mixing errors. It is called ValiMed by CDEX INC. ValiMed has been beta tested by the Univ. of Mich. Motts Pharmacy for 18 months and the gave CDEX much advice to improve it. They gave a glowing report that has spread around the world and even admitted that during that 18 months the ValiMed caught 6 potentially fatal mixups.
Most every mixed solution has a signature which ValiMed picks up.If that signature does not match a built in signature in ValiMed it will not validate it.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures available and increasing weekly.ValiMed is currently in 26 hospitals and has 35 more under contract awaiting delivery,and about 250 in various stages of negotiations.
Visit CDEX-inc and learn more ,also look at it''s ID2 meth detector.which just hit the market this week after 2 years of beta testing by Ariz,& Missouri ST Police.If you look inthe next few days you may be able to listenin on the conf call just completed laying out the whole picture,and the new investment package received.

[hjc64]

There is a device out there now that will eliminate most pharmaceutical mixing errors. It is called ValiMed by CDEX INC. ValiMed has been beta tested by the Univ. of Mich. Motts Pharmacy for 18 months and the gave CDEX much advice to improve it. They gave a glowing report that has spread around the world and even admitted that during that 18 months the ValiMed caught 6 potentially fatal mixups.
Most every mixed solution has a signature which ValiMed picks up.If that signature does not match a built in signature in ValiMed it will not validate it.
CDEX now has 172 different signatures available and increasing weekly.ValiMed is currently in 26 hospitals and has 35 more under contract awaiting delivery,and about 250 in various stages of negotiations.
Visit CDEX-inc and learn more ,also look at it''s ID2 meth detector.which just hit the market this week after 2 years of beta testing by Ariz,& Missouri ST Police.If you look inthe next few days you may be able to listen in on the conf call just completed laying out the whole picture,and the new investment package received.

[hjc64]

How about that getting a point across through ignorance

[hjc64]

Sorry about messing up the board they said I was limited to so many words and I was too stupid to see if they printed all of it. But 8 times yet.
Don''t take it out on ValiMed it didn''t get the chance to validate me.