Page 56 - Avoiding Surgical Mishaps Part 1

SVMIC Avoiding Surgical Mishaps: Dissecting the Risks

CASE STUDY

continued

a pulmonary source, so the surgeon wrote the patient a

prescription for a 10-day course of Levaquin and discharged
her home. Discharge instructions to the patient did not
mention any follow-up for the positive blood cultures that

were obtained from the PICC line during her hospitalization.

The day after she was discharged, the final results of the
blood cultures and sensitivity report identified resistance

to Levaquin, but sensitivity to methicillin and Vancomycin.
The surgeon made no changes to the patient’s medications,

nor did he contact her to inquire about her condition or
suggest a follow-up blood culture to verify that the single

dose of IV Vancomycin which she received while in the
hospital had been effective in eliminating the gram-positive

staphylococcus found on the culture report.

In addition to the endocarditis and damage to the aortic valve,

the patient also suffered a stroke and lengthy hospitalization

to recover from the complications of the infection.

A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed citing the failure to

administer timely and appropriate antibiotic therapy for the
positive blood cultures. The plaintiff alleged that because the

final results of the blood culture and sensitivity indicated that
Levaquin was not an antibiotic that would

effectively treat the type of organism that
caused the infection in her bloodstream,

she should have been readmitted and
treated with an antibiotic that would be

more appropriate.

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