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MAY 2012
The Forgotten Line
with commentary by Marta L. Render, MD
After placing a central line in an elderly patient following a heart attack, a community hospital transferred him to a referral hospital for stenting of his coronary arteries. He was discharged to an assisted living facility 2 days later, with the central line still in place.
MAY 2012
Double Dose at Transfer
with commentary by Jeffrey L. Hackman, MD
Diagnosed with cellulitis, an elderly man was admitted to the hospital after receiving the first dose of vancomycin in the ED. Just 3 hours later, a floor nurse noted the admission order for vancomycin every 12 hours and administered another dose.
MAY 2012
The Perils of Cross Coverage
with commentary by Jeanne M. Farnan, MD, MHPE; and Vineet M. Arora, MD, MAPP
Inadequate signout to the members of the night float team prevented them from appreciating a patient's mental status changes. Found comatose by the weekend cross-coverage team, the patient had a prolonged ICU stay.
MARCH 2012
Turn the Other Cheek
with commentary by John Starling III, MD
Following biopsies for two skin lesions on his left cheek, a patient was sent to an outside surgeon for excision of squamous cell carcinoma. Although the referral included a description and diagram, the wrong lesion was removed.
MARCH 2012
Cultural Dimensions of Depression
with commentary by J. David Kinzie, MD
Admitted to the hospital complaining of difficulty breathing and swallowing, a Vietnamese man was diagnosed with reflux disease and an outpouching of the esophagus. The patient was anxious and repeatedly stated that he was "dying" from his physical ailments. During a gastroenterology consultation, the patient ran to the restroom and jumped out the window, killing himself.
MARCH 2012
Postdischarge Follow-Up Phone Call
with commentary by Michelle Mourad, MD, and Stephanie Rennke, MD
A woman hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia was discharged home on antibiotics. Over the next few days, her symptoms worsened, but she was unable to obtain an appointment with her primary physician. The hospital called the patient that day to follow up, determined that she needed a different antibiotic, and prevented a readmission.
FEBRUARY 2012
Amended Lab Results: Communication Slip
with commentary by Vanitha Janakiraman Mohta, MD
A pregnant woman with new onset hypertension and proteinuria was admitted to the hospital for further testing. Test results for a 24-hour urine collection were initially reported as normal in the electronic medical record, and discharge planning was begun. However, a later amended report showed the results were elevated and abnormal, confirming a diagnosis of preeclampsia.
FEBRUARY 2012
Poorly Advanced Directives
with commentary by Wendy G. Anderson, MD, MS
An elderly man hospitalized with multiple medical conditions decided (with his family's blessing) on a DNR/DNI order. Following treatment, the patient was discharged home. Just days later a paramedic transporting the patient to the emergency department asked the family about advanced directives and they requested that "everything be done."
FEBRUARY 2012
E-prescribing: E for error?
with commentary by Elisa W. Ashton, PharmD
After entering an electronic prescription for the wrong patient, the clinic nurse deleted it, assuming that would cancel the order at the pharmacy. However, the prescription went through to the pharmacy, and the patient received it.
DECEMBER 2011
Missing the Point—Eye Injury
with commentary by Rahul Sharma, MD, MBA; and Douglas Brunette, MD, MPH
A woman presented to the emergency department with an eyelid laceration, which was sutured without complication. Her visual acuity was not formally tested and ophthalmology was not consulted. Ten days later, she presented with eye pain and poor vision. Ophthalmologist evaluation revealed a ruptured globe requiring surgical repair.
DECEMBER 2011
More Treatment—Better Care?
with commentary by Rita Redberg, MD, MSc
A patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome received more than the recommended number of plasmapheresis treatments. When the ordering physicians were asked why so many treatments were given, they both responded that the patient was improving so they felt that more treatments would help him recover even more.
DECEMBER 2011
Order Interrupted by Text: Multitasking Mishap
with commentary by John Halamka, MD, MS
While entering an order via smartphone to discontinue anticoagulation on a patient, a resident received a text message from a friend and never completed the order. The patient continued to receive warfarin and had spontaneous bleeding into the pericardium that required emergency open heart surgery.
NOVEMBER 2011
Liver Failure After Chemotherapy: Did We Forget Something?
with commentary by John Lubel, MD
A woman undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer developed fulminant liver failure after clinicians failed to check whether she had a history of hepatitis.
NOVEMBER 2011
The Case for Patient Flow Management
with commentary by Eugene Litvak, PhD, and Sarah A. Bernheim
Following hospitalization for suicidality, a woman was discharged to the care of her outpatient psychiatrist, a senior resident who was about to graduate. At her last visit in June before the year-end transfer, the patient was unable to schedule a follow-up visit because the new residents' schedules were not yet in the system. The delay in care had deadly consequences.
NOVEMBER 2011
Near Miss with Bedside Medications
with commentary by Albert Wu, MD, MPH
An elderly man discharged from the emergency department with syringes of anticoagulant for home use mistakenly picked up a syringe of atropine left by his bedside. At home the next day, he attempted to inject the atropine, but luckily was not harmed.
OCTOBER 2011
Communication Failure—Who's in Charge?
with commentary by Jim Fackler, MD, and Jamie M. Schwartz, MD
Residents and nurses assumed an ICU attending was conveying information to the surgeon and cardiologist about a toddler's deteriorating condition after heart surgery. However, none of the providers had a complete picture of the child's status, and he suffered a cardiac arrest.
OCTOBER 2011
The Dropped "No"
with commentary by Annette J. Johnson, MD, MS
When a hospitalized man developed an arrhythmia, the night float resident checked a radiology report that stated the patient had a DVT. Intervention was started based on that assumption. However, the radiology report had been transcribed incorrectly.
OCTOBER 2011
Mobility Lost in the ICU
with commentary by Jim Smith, PT, DPT, MA
Admitted to the trauma service following severe injuries, a man is transferred to the ICU for mechanical ventilation. After 6 weeks of hospitalization, the patient's initial shoulder injury progressed to involve significantly limited mobility and pain, prompting concern that physical therapy should have been initiated earlier.
SEPTEMBER 2011
Central, not Epidural
with commentary by Debora Simmons, PhD, RN
Following surgery, a cancer patient was receiving total parenteral nutrition and lipids through a central venous catheter and pain control through an epidural catheter. A nurse mistakenly connected a new bottle of lipids to the epidural tubing rather than the central line, and the error was not noticed for several hours.
SEPTEMBER 2011
Situational (Un)Awareness
with commentary by Erika Abramson, MD, MS, and Rainu Kaushal, MD, MPH
Antibiotics administration for an elderly man hospitalized for acute infection is delayed by more than 24 hours due to a mix-up and override in the computerized provider order entry system. However, none of the clinicians on the floor questioned the delay.
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