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MARCH 2013
The Unfamiliar Catheter
with commentary by Sonia C. Swayze, RN, MA, and Angela James, RN, BSN
While drawing labs on a woman admitted after a lung transplant, a nurse failed to clamp the patient's large-bore central line, allowing air to enter the catheter. The patient suffered a cerebral air embolism and was transferred to the ICU for several days.
JULY 2012
Not-So-Therapeutic Tap
with commentary by Jeffrey H. Barsuk, MD, MS
Following gallbladder removal, a patient presented with abdominal pain and fluid in her abdomen. The admitting team, comprised of a second-year resident and intern, decided to perform a paracentesis (fluid removal) without supervision. The patient had a complication necessitating emergency surgery and an ICU stay.
JULY 2011
A Seasonal Care Transition Failure
with commentary by John Q. Young, MD, MPP
A healthy elderly man presented to his primary care doctor—a third-year internal medicine resident—for routine examination. A PSA test was markedly elevated, but the results came back after the resident had graduated, and the alert went unread. Months later, the patient presented with new onset low back pain and was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.
MARCH 2011
Are We Pushing Graduate Nurses Too Fast?
with commentary by Nancy Spector, PhD, RN
While caring for a complex patient in the surgical intensive care unit, a nurse incorrectly set up the continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) machine, raising questions about how new nurses should be trained in high-risk procedures.
FEBRUARY 2011
Paradoxical Pulse
with commentary by Christopher Roy, MD
A week after successful pacemaker placement, an elderly man developed chest pain and was admitted to the hospital without having an urgent echocardiogram. Although providers felt that he "looked fine," the patient became acutely hypotensive, developed ventricular tachycardia and pulseless electrical activity, and required emergent resuscitative measures for cardiac tamponade.
FEBRUARY 2011
One Toxic Drug Is Not Like Another
with commentary by Eric S. Holmboe, MD
A man diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C was treated with interferon and ribavirin by his internist without referral for a liver biopsy or the appropriate blood tests. Treatment was continued for months despite the patient developing pancytopenia and continuing to have a high viral load, raising questions about physicians practicing outside their areas of competency.
NOVEMBER 2010
Treatment Challenges after Discharge
with commentary by Chase Coffey, MD, MS
A man returns to the emergency department 11 days after hospital discharge in worsening condition. With no follow-up on a urine culture and sensitivity sent during his hospitalization, the patient had been taking the wrong antibiotic for a UTI.
OCTOBER 2010
The Deadly Duo
with commentary by José R. Maldonado, MD
A man prescribed a tricyclic antidepressant and an antipsychotic medication was found unconscious and unresponsive at home and was brought to the emergency department (ED). An electrocardiogram showed potentially dangerous heart rhythms.
OCTOBER 2010
"Recurrent" Appendicitis
with commentary by Caprice C. Greenberg, MD, MPH
Following an appendectomy, an elderly man continued to have right lower quadrant pain. Reviewing the specimen removed during the surgery, the pathologist found no appendiceal tissue. The patient was emergently taken back to the OR, and the appendix was located and removed.
DECEMBER 2009
Round-Trip Service
with commentary by Mary H. McGrath, MD, MPH
Eager to have his knee replaced, an active older patient travels overseas for the surgery. At home 2 weeks later, he develops acute pain and swelling in his knee. A local orthopedic surgeon's office tells him to contact his operating physician, nearly 5000 miles away.
OCTOBER 2009
Difficult Encounters: A CMO and CNO Respond
with commentary by Ernest J. Ring, MD; Jane E. Hirsch, RN, MS
Cardiology consultation on an elderly man admitted to the orthopedic service following a hip fracture reveals aortic stenosis. The cardiologist recommends against surgery, due to the risk of anesthesia. When the nurse reads these recommendations to the orthopedic resident, he calls her "stupid" and contacts the OR to schedule the surgery anyway. The Chief Medical Officer is called to intervene.
APRIL 2009
Breakage of a PICC Line
with commentary by Vesselin Dimov, MD
A premature infant had a PICC line placed for parenteral nutrition. During an attempt to remove it, the line broke. The infant had to be sent for surgical removal of the catheter and required an increased level of care, including ventilator support.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2009
Double Dosing, by the Rules
with commentary by Hedy Cohen, RN, BSN, MS
New medication administration policies at one hospital cause a patient to receive two doses of her daily medication within a few hours, when only one dose was intended.
NOVEMBER 2008
Sick and Pregnant
with commentary by Shareen El-Ibiary, PharmD, BCPS
A pregnant woman with asthma was admitted to the hospital with respiratory distress. Although the emergency department providers noted that she was pregnant, this information was not conveyed to the floor. On admission, the patient was given an antibiotic that could have been dangerous.
NOVEMBER 2008
A Mid-Summer Fog
with commentary by Clarence H. Braddock III, MD, MPH
A woman with diabetes is admitted to a teaching hospital in July. An intern, who received training at a hospital where only paper orders were used, mistakenly chose the wrong form for the insulin order. As a result, the insulin dose was not adjusted for the patient's NPO (nothing by mouth) status, and she became unresponsive.
OCTOBER 2008
Recurrent Hypoglycemia: A Care Transition Failure?
with commentary by Ted Eytan, MD, MS, MPH
An elderly, non–English-speaking man with diabetes was admitted to the hospital twice in 8 days due to hypoglycemia. At discharge, the patient was instructed not to take any antidiabetic medications. In between hospitalizations, he saw his primary care physician, who restarted an antidiabetic medication.
SEPTEMBER 2008
Failure to Latch
with commentary by Mitch Rodriguez, MD, MBA; Rebecca Mannel, BS, IBCLC; Donna Frye, RN, MN
After several pediatric visits, parents of a newborn with low output and weight loss contact a lactation consultant, who discovered that ankyloglossia (tongue-tie) was preventing the infant from receiving adequate intake from breastfeeding.
JULY 2008
Wrong Route for Nutrients
with commentary by Jill R. Scott-Cawiezell, RN, PhD
An elderly man receiving feedings through a percutaneous enterostomy tube was prescribed intravenous total parenteral nutrition (TPN). A licensed practical nurse (LPN) mistakenly connected the TPN to the patient's enterostomy tube. His daughter (a retired nurse) asked her about it, and the RN on duty confirmed the error. The LPN disconnected the mistakenly placed (and now contaminated) line, but then prepared to attach it to the intravenous catheter. Luckily, both the patient's daughter and the RN were present and stopped her.
JULY 2008
Dependence vs. Pain
with commentary by Adam J. Gordon, MD, MPH
A man with a history of heroin use came to the hospital with abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Admitted for dehydration and opiate withdrawal, he was given intravenous fluids, methadone, and morphine for abdominal pain. The patient complained of worsening pain overnight and was given more methadone. In the morning, the patient had more severe pain and tachycardia, and was found to have a perforated colon.
APRIL 2008
Antibiotics for URI/Sinusitis—A Simple Decision Gone Bad
with commentary by Sumant Ranji, MD
A woman with symptoms of sinusitis was given 2 different courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics, neither of which improved her symptoms. Hospitalized for autoimmune hemolysis (presumably from the antibiotic), the patient suffered multiorgan failure and septic shock, and died.
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