The National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality reports that o ne out of every fifteen hospitalized children is harmed by accidental overdoses, bad drug reactions, and mix-ups with medicine. This is much higher than previously reported; prior reports showed two out of every 100 children are harmed, but the rate has gone up to 11 for every 100 children. Based on government data, this is 7.3% of hospitalized children, or roughly 540,000 a year.
Triggers
The traditional way of reporting hospital errors with children includes those hospitals voluntary reports and “nonspecific patient reviews.” Reliance on hospital staffers voluntarily reporting problems showed less than 4% were detected. The current study which randomly reviewed 960 medical charts for children at 12 children’s hospitals nationwide, but some believe the problem to be much worse than it has been reported due to the selective nature of the charts. For example, the study did not take into account general community hospitals where a majority of children are admitted.
The new method of monitoring which was developed for the study showed a list of 15 “triggers” on children’s patient charts including use of antidotes for drug overdoses, lab tests, or side effects that seem suspicious. Triggers listed include:
- using vitamin K as an antidote for an overdose of Coumadin, a blood thinner
- a blood test showing insulin overdoses
- using a drug called naloxone for overdoses of painkillers and morphine
- a lab test identifying blood clotting problems from an overdose of heparin (a drug that has seen its share of problems lately)
The study showed that 22% of the problems were preventable and that most were mild cases. None caused permanent brain damage or death, but there were some that showed potential to cause serious harm.
Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberly have been in the news recently for the heparin overdose their twins suffered soon after they were born. Their public hospital error is one of the stories that has pushed this story and helped the media to take notice. While their children are fine today, Quaid’s advice for parents is that they ask attending doctors and nurses what medicine their children are getting and why.
If your child has suffered an injury due to hospital error, please contact an injury lawyer in your area.
