Grandfather, 79, dies after nurse gives him execution drug rather than over-the-counter medicine

Daily Mail ^ | 11/17/11 | Paul Thompson and Mark Duell

[LibWhacker]

A 79-year-old man died after a nurse mistakenly gave him a drug used in state executions rather than an over-counter medicine.

Richard Smith was admitted to hospital in Miami, Florida, after complaining of stomach pains and shortness of breath.

The former teacher was prescribed Pepcid, an over-the-counter antacid, to try and cure the problem. Dead: Richard Smith, 79, was admitted to hospital in Miami, Florida, after complaining of stomach pains and shortness of breath

Dead: Richard Smith, 79, was admitted to hospital in Miami, Florida, after complaining of stomach pains and shortness of breath

But nurse Uvo Ologboride picked up a vial of Pancuronium from a locked drug cart and injected it into the former teacher's IV tube.

The drug is given to death row inmates being put to death.

[presently no screen name]

I don’t want to know that but seeing the light consequences the nurse received, it certainly seems to be the case.

[mdmathis6]

Uvo Ologboride also seems to be a chairman of the ICARE Healthnetwork down in Florida from some google runs I did of his name. Other sources have him as male and from West Africa. Uvo’s name comes up a lot and I know there can’t be that many guys from Africa or Haiti named Uvo Ologboride based in Florida. One posting shows a certain Uvo Ologboride criticising Atheists for not believing in God on one forum. He could be Haitian, too I guess.

Political correctness allowing such a person to pay a fine and continue working as an RN? Something is really stinking here!

And I am an RN and my corporation takes a really dim view about such basic mistakes. Calculation errors can be trick to place blame on because a lot of times the Pharmacies mix the drugs and if mislabeling occurs, what’s the nurse to do?

Yet, such a basic rooky mistake such as not recognizing famotidine(pepcid) from Pancuronium will get you thrown out of nursing school and would get me fired! I’ve given Pancuronium as a process in in rapid intubation of patients. Heck their starting letters “f” and “p” are not even close to each other. Totally brainless! Or is something more darker at work...run some Googles on his name. A name like Uvo Ologboride can not be too common; yet there are lots of entries with his name!

[mdmathis6]

It happened in Florida but was reported in the UK. Political correctness seems to be keeping it from being a story. By the way, there is a copy of the Board of nursing Judgment on line...it’s date June 26/2011. So this story has been percolating for a while...just not in the US!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LibWhacker.

[Wage Slave]

We used it in the neonatal intensive care unit so the premature babies would not fight the ventilator. It was the only way to keep them oxygenated if they were critically ill. It was most definitely on the med cart and we all had access to it.

[ontap]

It probably has a purpose in the proper amounts. There are a lot of toxic drugs which are fatal if not given in the correct way!!

[driftdiver]

Its a muscle relaxant. Hospitals carry many drugs which will kill you if administered incorrectly.

[who knows what evil?]

Many of us have discovered that you need to read foreign newspapers to find out what is going on in America...

[ontap]

I have a brother-in-law who took his truck to Grease and Go for an oil change. They replaced the oil with anti freeze (new employee). They wanted to just overhaul the engine but he got a new engine out of the deal. Took him a year though

[healy61]

The complaint of pain and shortness of breath was the cause for the hospitalization. Then the pancuronium.

[presently no screen name]

The guy was old and not likely to live much longer anyway.

WOW! No one knows that. He could very easily live another 10 yrs. Everyday is precious to his family but not for those who have no value for another's life.

If Obamacare was fully implemented, this nurse would have gotten a bonus for saving the government money.

Not true. The gov't doesn't have enough taxpayer money to implement obamacare.

[mdmathis6]

I understand that “she” might be a “he”!

[Condor51]

She was fined $2,800 and had to attend training course

[carcraft]

Ulcers are caused by a bacteria, Famotadine will not prevent ulcers. Famotadine can reduce acid and the pain from reflux.

[carcraft]

I really wonder why Pancuronium was on the cart! Rocuronium is a much better drug and has fewer side effects, Pancuronium can cause severe tachycardia , not a really good idea in the elderly. Pancuronium is cheap, but cheaper isn't always better. Most muscle relaxant today have a red top to indicate danger.

[Condor51]

*** not a native-born American. The story said it was in UK ***

The article is from a UK paper but it happened here in the good ole USA:

Details of the mix up were revealed by the Smith family as they filed a lawsuit against the Florida hospital.

(ObamaDeathCare coming to you us with his 'Nurse Practitioners')

[Doogle]

I donate blood every 5 months or so.....last time I donated a Haitian “kid” prepped me three times...after the third time,I said to him...”you get one shot, if you don’t get the vein first time, we bring in the first team”....another “worker” heard my comment, looked over at me and said, I’ll be right there.........to which the young guy became upset and said,”I’ve been working with needles for ten years”, to which I replied...”on humans?”
He got piss’d and left, I was relieved.

[Fresh Wind]

My reply was pure sarcasm. Sorry I forgot the /s tag.

[catman67]

There is a major problem in importing nurses from third world countries. The training they receive is nowhere comparable and there are major language and cultural barriers as well.

[presently no screen name]

I took it as sarcasm at first but then I decided not to give you the benefit of the doubt. ;)