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medical misadmin to hermaphrodite?



I've received a few comments saying I have an obsession with this.
Please note that I generally understand situations where the dose is off
by a little bit - try to avoid this, next time, but this happens.  It's
the total screwups - wrong patient, wrong organ, wrong radionuclide that
are inexcusable.

BTW - Who wrote this alleged report?  It's Tc99m, I hope, not Tc-99.  If
the individual involved received dose to all of the organs stated he
(she? it?) has more problems than a few rems.  (I hope I'm not trying to
practice medicine without a license.)   If you screw up, at least write
a good report about it.

The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
It's not about dose, it's about trust.

Bill Lipton
liptonw@dteenergy.com


|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:
36333       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| REP ORG:  KS DEPT of HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT      |NOTIFICATION DATE:
10/22/1999|
|LICENSEE:  CUSHING MEMORIAL HOSPITAL            |NOTIFICATION TIME:
16:13[EDT]|
|    CITY:  LEAVENWORTH              REGION:  4  |EVENT DATE:
09/20/1999|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  KS |EVENT TIME:
12:30[CDT]|
|LICENSE#:                        AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:
10/22/1999|
|  DOCKET:
|+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON
ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |LINDA SMITH
R4      |
|                                                |CHARLEY HAUGHNEY
NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+
|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  JUSTIN SPENCE
|                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  DICK JOLLIFFE
|                             |
+------------------------------------------------+
|
|EMERGENCY CLASS:
|                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:
|                             |
|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE
|                             |
|
|                             |
|
|                             |
|
|                             |
|
|                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                   EVENT TEXT
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| - AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - POTENTIAL MEDICAL MISADMINISTRATION
-             |
|
|
| A POTENTIAL MEDICAL MISADMINISTRATION INVOLVING AN INCORRECT CHEMICAL
FORM   |
| OF TECHNETIUM-99 OCCURRED ON 09/22/99.  AT 1230 CDT, THE PATIENT
WAS         |
| ADMINISTERED 25.8 MILLICURIES OF WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN TECHNETIUM-99
DTPA.  THE |
| PATIENT WAS SCHEDULED TO RECEIVE A DOSE OF TECHNETIUM-99 MYOVIEW FOR A
HEART |
| SCAN.  AN IMAGE OF THE KIDNEYS
AND                                           |
| BLADDER WERE PRESENTED, BUT NO HEART IMAGE.  THE RADIOLOGIST/RSO
WAS         |
| IMMEDIATELY INFORMED.  THE RADIOLOGIST CONFIRMED THE FINDINGS OF
THE         |
| TECHNICIAN.  THE LABEL FOR THE DOSE STATES THE RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL WAS
A     |
| MYOVIEW DOSE.  THE RADIOPHARMACY FROM WHICH THE DOSE WAS RECEIVED
BELIEVES   |
| THAT THE CORRECT SUBSTANCE WAS ADMINISTERED.  THE PATIENT AND
PHYSICIAN WERE |
| INFORMED THAT THE INCORRECT RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL HAD BEEN ADMINISTERED,
AND   |
| THE CORRECT PROCEDURE WAS PERFORMED ON 09/23/99.  DURING THE WEEK
OF         |
| 10/04/99, THE CONSULTING PHYSICIST TO THE HOSPITAL WAS INFORMED.
ON         |
| 10/17/99, THE PHYSICIST SENT A REPORT TO THE LICENSEE.  IT WAS
DETERMINED    |
| THAT THE CHEMICAL FORM OF THE RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL WAS PROBABLY DTPA.
THE    |
| DOSE OF 25 MILLICURIES RESULTED IN A DOSE OF: TOTAL BODY 0.75 RAD,
BLADDER   |
| 7.00 RAD, KIDNEYS 0.53 RAD, OVARIES 0.50 RAD, UTERUS 0.93 RAD, AND
TESTES    |
| 0.35 RAD.  THE CONSULTANT INSTRUCTED THE LICENSEE TO NOTIFY THE STATE
OF     |
| KANSAS AND FILE A WRITTEN REPORT TO THE STATE OF KANSAS WITHIN 15
DAYS.      |
|
|
| AT 0930 CDT ON 10/22/99, CUSHING MEMORIAL HOSPITAL TELEPHONED THE
KANSAS     |
| RADIATION CONTROL PROGRAM IN ORDER TO INFORM THE AGENCY OF THE
EVENT         |
| DESCRIBED ABOVE. THE KANSAS RADIATION CONTROL PROGRAM INITIATED
AN           |
|
INVESTIGATION.
|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+




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