Patients at hospitals and other healthcare facilities are being administered IV solutions intended for training purposes only, leading to severe adverse events in those being treated. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported on the problem. Late in December, the FDA issued a warning to health professionals about a patient becoming ill. Since the alert, around forty additional patients have been reported to have suffered adverse effects after receiving the IV training solution.
Educators use a certain solution that they use for training simulations that looks like the real solution. However, the training liquids are non-sterile and should never be used in humans or animals. The patients receiving the training solutions have experienced fever, chills, tremors and headaches. One patient died while the doctors were using the training solution, but it is not known if the death is directly linked to the product. Seven states have reported adverse effects from the demonstration IVs: Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, and Colorado.
Doctors and hospitals may be administering the wrong IV solutions due to a shortage of regular IV saline products. Over the past few months, supplies from companies B. Braun, Hospira, and Baxter have been inconsistent. It could have been that the training supplies may have accidentally been ordered in lieu of the sterile solutions to be used in the course of medical treatment. While the suppliers provide labelling that identifies the training products as “for clinical simulation,” they could have been misidentified upon arrival to the hospital. Doctors and healthcare providers may also not be as prudent at reading the labels because they assume that the training products are suitable replacements.
Wallcur, the manufacturer of the training IV, announced it has recalled its current products in a media statement. However, the extent of the distribution is unknown because 90 percent of the company’s supply is processed through independent medical distributors. The company is working with the FDA to figure out ways to label the training products so they can be easily distinguished from the real IV saline solutions. The FDA has called on hospital educators, medical and nursing school affiliates, urgent care centers, ambulatory surgical centers, and other inpatient and outpatient facilities to report if any patients received the training solution to assist the FDA investigation and monitoring of this issue.
The medical malpractice lawyers at Lopez McHugh are currently investigating incidents of medical mistakes. If you suffered a significant injury or a loved one died because of a healthcare provider’s medication error or other medical mistake, you should consider contacting a medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your legal options. There is no cost or obligation for the initial consultation and your information will be kept confidential. Contact the Lopez McHugh, LLP medical malpractice lawyers today for a free case evaluation.
