A failure to identify patients led a 76-year-old woman to undergo surgery that had been recommended for someone else at Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa, in Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo. Jandira Marina Dias Braga died three days after the procedure.
Hospital operates on wrong patient; elderly woman dies three days later
A failure to identify patients led a 76-year-old woman to undergo surgery that had been recommended for someone else at Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa, in Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo. Jandira Marina Dias...
The patient was hospitalized due to an intestinal obstruction caused by the recurrence of colon cancer. According to the family, she should start a treatment similar to that carried out around 12 years earlier, when she managed to overcome the disease.
On the night of June 8, however, Jandira was mistakenly taken to the operating room and underwent an endoscopic gastrostomy, a technique used to install a tube directly into the stomach.
Records obtained by EPTV indicate that the surgery began at 6:45 pm and ended around 7:20 pm. The error was only noticed during the nursing shift change, when the team discovered that the patient who should have been operated on was still waiting in the room.
After checking the identification bracelets, the professionals concluded that Jandira had been taken to the procedure in place of the other woman.
The family was called to a meeting with representatives from the hospital management. On TV Globo, dentist Camila Dias Barozzi, the patient's granddaughter, said that the relatives initially imagined that the elderly woman had died.
According to Camila, the clinical director informed that Jandira had been operated on by mistake and stated that he had never faced a similar case.
The family was also informed that the gastrostomy could alleviate intestinal obstruction by allowing the removal of accumulated fluids. Relatives, however, claim that the patient's condition deteriorated after the intervention.
“The next day she again passed a liquid that looked like feces, started vomiting and none of what they said would be beneficial happened,” reported the granddaughter.
Jandira also presented tachycardia and signs of sepsis. According to the medical records, the morning after the surgery she had a drop in blood pressure, a reduction in oxygen saturation, mental confusion and cardiac changes.
Given her worsening, the elderly woman was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. The medical team was investigating the possibility of sepsis and pulmonary thromboembolism.
As his health condition worsened, doctors and family members decided to adopt palliative care. Jandira died on the night of June 11th.
In a statement, the hospital admitted the failure to refer the patient to the surgical center and reported having opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the case. The institution also stated that it was reviewing its security protocols and adopted administrative measures, including the dismissal of professionals involved.
The unit also stated that a technical evaluation concluded that the procedure did not interfere with the patient's prognosis. The family disputes this version and intends to go to court.
The case was also forwarded to the responsible professional councils.
Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Ultima Hora
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