Anne Arundel Medical Center is firing a pharmacist after it determined that her mistake led to three babies being wrongly given an opiate-based drug that caused breathing difficulties, sources said today.
The pharmacist apparently substituted an opiate-based drug for a blood thinner the babies were supposed to receive in their IVs to keep their blood vessels open, sources familiar with the incident said.
The finding concludes a two-week investigation of the Jan. 31 incident by U.S., state and local authorities.
The Annapolis hospital was to hold a news conference today to discuss the investigation and disclose the findings.
State health authorities planned later today to release their own report examining the hospital's pharmacy policies and procedures that could have led to the mistake. State investigators also looked at nursing and quality assurance policies.
The Anne Arundel County state's attorney's office has been considering whether to pursue criminal charges in the case.
The hospital hired two New York attorneys last week who specialize in medical malpractice to try to determine what happened.
According to the hospital, the drug did not harm the three babies, although it caused temporary breathing difficulties that prompted staff members to put the babies on ventilators.
One baby is home, while as of last night, the other two remain in stable condition in the hospital's critical care nursery.
The events of Jan. 31, by all reports, mystified nurses, physicians, parents, and others familiar with the hospital.
This much is sure:
About 5 a.m., one infant was found to be having difficulty breathing in the critical care nursery. About 30 minutes later, another baby was found to have the same symptoms.
At 8:30 p.m. that day, the third infant was identified with the same problem. Hospital staff put all three babies on ventilators to help them continue breathing.
Later, hospital officials reported publicly that they were investigating a situation in which three infants had been identified as having traces of an opiate, which had not been prescribed, in their urine.
No law enforcement authorities were involved initially or even notified, the hospital said, because it was unclear whether anything illegal had occurred.