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.

[kanawa]

http://ww2.doh.state.fl.us/DocServiceMngr/GetImage.aspx?documentid=MTQyMDk1MjI=&enc=1

[reg45]

Why is she any less guilty than Dr. Conrad Murray or why is he any more guilty than she is? It seems to me that they were both guilty of a comparable level of incompetence and should both receive comparable punishments.

[wideminded]

... there can’t be that many guys from Africa or Haiti named Uvo Ologboride based in Florida. ... He could be Haitian, too I guess.

Apparently a lot of people from Nigeria have a last name that begins with "Olog". The official language of Nigeria is English.

[PowderMonkey]

Having recently spent an inordinate amount of time in hospital ICUs myself, both as guest and visitor, I can attest to the quality of care ranging from the local Peace Corps clinic to the best of big city hospitals. I've seen RNs kill a man by thoughtlessly flushing his IV tubes using stale water from an open cup that had been sitting on a side board for three days. Another died of massive infection caused by a nurse with four-inch long finger nails, that kept piercing her surgical gloves while changing his dressings. In another incident, despite warnings directing “Nothing By Mouth” represented by a marker on the door, directive on the man's chart, strict procedures in place, and a 3x5 wall sign, an RN spooned pudding into his mouth. Aspirated food particles quickly led to pneumonia and death. In my own case, allergic reaction to certain medications have been repeatedly overlooked by routine classification: "No Known Medical Allergies. " This despite countless medical interviews and years of medical records to the contrary. It doesn't matter where or when. It doesn't matter where the staff hails from. It's all about professionalism and attention to detail in the most critical and demanding of working environments.

[mdmathis6]

So everyone nigerian in Florida has both names(Uvo Ologboride)?

[mdmathis6]

Stress ulcers are caused by any area in the stomach that receives a reduced blood flow causing that area to ulcerate due to acid erosion of the area.

This is generally caused by prolonged sympathetic nervous system “flight or fight” responses. We give Pepcid and other Acid blockers as standard therapy to prevent stress ulcerations caused by literally the stress of being in the hospital, as well as chemical “flight or fight” reactions caused by IV or oral glucocortical steroids.

Certain bacteria have been implicated but not totally proven in ulcer formation; it is likely that they are oppotunistic and infest ulcers already formed, worsening the process.

[Doogle]

“If a 747 jetliner crashed every day, killing all 500 people aboard,
there would be a national uproar over aviation safety and an all-out
mobilization to fix the problem.” However, “in the nation’s
hospitals...about the same number of people die on average every day
from medical ‘adverse events,’ many of them preventable errors, such
as infections or incorrect medications. Where’s the outrage?” USA
TODAY Editorial 11/19/10

In November 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
issued a study that covered just the 15 percent of the U.S. population
enrolled in Medicare. It found that each month one out of seven
Medicare hospital patients is injured-and an estimated 15,000 are
killed-by harmful medical practice. Treating the consequences of
medical errors cost Medicare a full $324 million in October 2008
alone, or 3.5 percent of all Medicare expenditures for inpatient care.
Another recent study looked at the incidence of avoidable medical
errors across the entire population and concluded that they affected
1.5 million people and cost the U.S. economy $19.5 billion in 2008.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that
almost 100,000 Americans now die from hospital-acquired infections
alone, and that most of these are preventable. Washington Monthly -
March, 2011

(from an email)

[count-your-change]

I’ve not followed the story in detail but it sounds like something from the Jerry Springer show, “He/She-Angle of Death”, (a story with a tilt!).

[JimRed]

What the heck is an “execution” drug doing in a hospital drug cart, anyway?

[Mom MD]

Pancuronium is routinely used in surgery and sometimes in the ICU. It should never be available outside of surgery, the ER, or the ICU. All drugs have the potential to be deadly if misused, but that does not make the drug bad. Just the person who does not know what they are doing with it

[mdmathis6]

Probably there for emergent intubations...this event occured
in an ICU apparently.

[count-your-change]

H. pylori has been accepted as the major cause of stomach and duodenal ulcers, has it not? and then medicines?

[markoman]

I recently had my first colonoscopy.The staff could not have been friendlier or more redundant.In the three hours it took for the procedure...(check in to check out) I talked to at least four nurses,three people from the anesthesia team,and the doctor who performed the procedure.
All asked me the same questions....age,date of birth,weight,reason for being there etc.
It gave me a pretty good insight to where health care spending goes.

[tnlibertarian]

I worked with a guy who took his car in to a quick oil change place where they drained the oil, put the plug back in and sent him on his way. He didn’t make it very far down the road. He had it towed back to the place. It’s been a while, but if I remember correctly, they realized there was no oil in it and filled it back up and tried to hide what they did. I think someone fessed up. They replaced his engine.

[US_MilitaryRules]

But I thought the world ran out of drugs to kill death row inmates?

[strongbow]

Agreed. This is a cover up for intentional euthanasia. This drug is never used outside the operating room, maybe in ICU for ventilated patients.

[reg45]

OTOH, "avoidable" medical fatalities could be considered a cost benefit by the bean counters at HHS.

I don't expect anything to be done until a member of the ruling political class is affected by an incident.

[wideminded]

So everyone nigerian in Florida has both names(Uvo Ologboride)?

I was only commenting on this person's probable national origin and the fact that they probably speak decent English.

There is a place called Ologbo in SW Nigeria. Apparently ologbo means "cat" in some Nigerian languages. There seem to be a lot of people whose last names start with "Ologbo", but I only noticed one other Ologboride.

[Judith Anne]

As I recall, the 6 “rights” of medication administration:

1. Right patient
2. Right drug
3. Right amount
4. Right day and time
5. Right route
6. authorization/documentation

Everything must be checked every time every patient, every pill or ointment or injection.

[mdmathis6]

Before any invasive procedure, the good hospitals do a time out procedure before proceeding to insure that the right body parts are being worked on. Redundant questions may be asked of you to ensure that you know who you are, where you are and did you understand the procedures involved. There is a final check of the orders and marking of any affected body parts are checked. If they are supposed to do a colonoscopy, you don’t want to wake up with a penectomy do you?