Question

Failure to communicate led to a $1 million jury judgment against a nurse in Maine. The client had returned to the recovery room from surgery for the removal of a foreign object lodged in his esophagus. At about 1 hour after surgery, the client’s wife reported to the recovery room nurse that her husband was wheezing and in pain. The nurse recognized these symptoms as indicative of an esophageal tear but did not notify the surgeon of the client’s condition for 6 hours. When the surgeon was finally notified of the client’s condition, the client was taken back to surgery and a corrective procedure was performed. Unfortunately, during the 6-hour period before the tear was repaired, the client’s esophagus had become infected with organisms from his gastrointestinal tract, and he died shortly afterward. His wife brought a lawsuit against the hospital for negligence on the part of the nurse. The court ruled that the nurse’s failure to promptly notify the surgeon was a failure to follow a standard of care.
 
For your post, describe what actions by this nurse were inappropriate, and what you would do differently.   Be specific, and explain your rationale for your alternate actions.

Answer 1

Oesophageal rupture is a serious medical condition which should be treated immediately by surgical intervention.Our GI tract is a heavenly abode for many normal commensal flora like Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sps like heavy weight bacilli .The patient is presently with compromised immunity by previous surgery where the normal commensal flora have turned pathogenic.

So We should immediately inform the surgeon about the condition and prepare the patient for repeat corrective surgical intervention.