Court Investigation Into Tragic Death Of 9-Month-Old-Baby Who Was Administrated 10 Times More Medicine Than Corresponding Dose

The incident which occurred last February 19 at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital is now being investigated as an alleged reckless homicide due to professional negligence, by the Instruction Court number 10 in Plaza de Castilla Madrid.

The baby boy, nine months old at the time of his death, was born with heart problems, after which he received a heart transplant at the same centre on 18 November.

The fatal error occurred during the recovery period, in February earlier this year, when the baby needed 100 milligrams of mycophenolate, an immunosuppressive drug which is used on transplant patients.

However, doctors mistakenly gave the child more than 1,000 milligrams. Ten time more than the corresponding dose.

As is recorded in the medical records, the baby boy died two weeks later on February 19 from intestinal necrosis, despite doctors trying to reverse the effects of the overdose.

The Hospital’s own clinical notes highlight the error in several reports:
“Early in the morning, a dose 10 times higher than the corresponding dose of oral mycophenolate is mistakenly administered. “Mycophenolate administration error 1 gram instead of 100 mg”. “On 4/02, an enteral dose 10 times higher than the corresponding dose of mycophenolate is administered by mistake.”

The court will now investigate whether it was the doctor who prescribed the wrong dosage or the nurse who incorrectly administered too much.

Lawyers for the family also stress how wrong it was of the hospital to not ‘even provided psychological help’ to assist them recover from the ordeal.

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