Nashville hospital admits pharmacy error in incident leaving at least one paralyzed – fox17.com

Nashville hospital admits pharmacy error in incident leaving at least one paralyzed  fox17.com

Ascension Saint Thomas is revealing new details about a medication error at its Midtown hospital that harmed four joint replacement patients , saying the patients mistakenly received potassium phosphate instead of an anesthetic medication. The hospital said the error happened Friday, Aug. 14, inside the pharmacy at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown. RELATED COVERAGE | Tenn. woman paralyzed after alleged drug mix-up at Nashville hospital, 3 others affected According to a statement released Friday, the four patients were supposed to receive mepivacaine, an anesthetic medication. Instead, the hospital said they received potassium phosphate. “The four patients experienced adverse health reactions and received immediate medical care,” the hospital said. Ascension Saint Thomas said a comprehensive review confirmed no other patients were affected.

The new information comes after FOX 17 News spoke with the family of 72-year-old Glenda Dorton , who said she went to Saint Thomas Midtown on Aug. 14 for a routine knee replacement and was one of the patients impacted. Dorton’s family previously told FOX 17 News she was supposed to receive an anesthetic through an epidural before surgery but was instead given potassium. Her family said she woke up after surgery unable to feel or move from the sternum down and was later told she has T-6 paralysis. The family said they were told the medication came directly