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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.
SEPTEMBER 2011
The Safety and Quality of Long Term Care
with commentary by Amy A. Vogelsmeier, PhD, RN
Following surgical repair for a hip fracture, a nursing home resident with limited mobility developed a fever. She was readmitted to the hospital, where examination revealed a very deep pressure ulcer. Despite maximal efforts, the patient developed septic shock and died.
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.
JULY 2011
Patient Safety and Adherence to Self-Administered Medications
with commentary by Harriette Gillian Christine Van Spall, MD; Robby Nieuwlaat, PhD; and R. Brian Haynes, MD, PhD
A man with HIV disease and a recent diagnosis of CNS toxoplasmosis presented to the ED for the third time in two weeks with headaches, seizures, and right-sided weakness. Physicians pursued a workup for treatment-resistant toxoplasmosis or another brain disease, but discovered that the patient had run out of his toxoplasmosis medications.
JULY 2011
Watch the Warfarin!
with commentary by Margaret Fang, MD, MPH; Raman Khanna, MD, MAS
Following hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia, an elderly man with a history of dementia, falls, and atrial fibrillation is discharged on antibiotics but no changes to his anticoagulation medication. One week later, the patient’s INR was dangerously high.
JUNE 2011
Say it Again
with commentary by Kerm Henriksen, PhD; Kendall K. Hall, MD, MS
Admitted to the hospital with community-acquired pneumonia, an elderly man nearly receives dangerous potassium supplementation due to a “critical panic value” call for a low potassium in another patient.
JUNE 2011
Routine Goes Awry
with commentary by Kevin C. Huoh, MD; Kristina W. Rosbe, MD
A healthy child underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Extubated after an uneventful surgery, within an hour the child became hypoxic and unable to breathe spontaneously, requiring reintubation.
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