Cancer Patient Set On Fire During Operation In Romania

[appalachiablue]

Source: BBC News

A hospital patient has died after being set on fire during surgery in Romania. Surgeons at Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest used an alcohol-based disinfectant on the woman, 66, before carrying out her operation for pancreatic cancer on 22 December.

But they then used an electric scalpel - which, as it came into contact with the alcohol, set the woman's body alight on the operating table. She suffered burns to 40% of her body, and died in hospital a week later.

Police have opened an investigation into the woman's death, local media report. The victim's family told Romanian media they hadn't been told of "the gravity of the situation" or the details of what had happened - only that it was "an accident".

"We found out some details from the press, when they were broadcast on TV stations," they said. "We aren't making accusations, we just want to understand what happened."


Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50947404

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Deputy minister Horatiu Moldovan stated, "The surgeons should have been aware that it is prohibited to use an alcohol-based disinfectant during surgical procedures performed with an electric scalpel."

Romania spends the least on its healthcare system of any EU country, both per resident and as a percentage of its GDP. It has the highest child mortality rates on the continent, along with an underdeveloped hospital infrastructure and a persistent shortage of medical staff.

[Cartoonist]

1. I'll pass on that cure.

[saidsimplesimon]

2. sooo, not a great retirement spot

for health care or were they trying to light a Romanian BBQ? (sarcasm)

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Sounds like a lot of alcohol to reach 40%, and poor burn care

I'm no expert, but I would think survivable here in the US

[appalachiablue]

4. Idiots not to have extinguished & treated, and let it go that far.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Alcohol fires can be hard to notice at first. But 40% of body seems like a LOT of alcohol.

Flame for alcohol fire is not bright. Perhaps the surgical drapes got soaked in alcohol early on.

[Captain Zero]

20. One reason why alcohol was banned from racing fuel

just saying.

[paleotn]

6. oh, my dear freaking God....

Got to let the prep dry no matter what the hell you're using before coming anywhere near it with a bovie. Surgical nursing 101 my better half just told me...as she's picking her jaw up off the floor....face palming and slowly shaking her head now. Needless to say...no surgical procedures for me in Romania.

[OnlinePoker]

7. Headline and first sentence makes it sound like it was deliberate

The word "accidentally" should have been used.

[appalachiablue]

8. yeah, they could have added 'accidental' for sure.

[Xipe Totec]

9. Surgical fires are rare. However, ...

https://nationalpost.com/news/the-patient-is-on-fire-doctors-malpractice-insurer-warns-of-fires-burns-in-the-or

Surgical fires are rare. However, patient safety groups have deemed them “never events,” meaning they should never happen.

A new review of 54 cases of surgical fires and burns by the body that defends doctors accused of malpractice found many people were left with “scarring, disfigurement and psychological trauma.”

One-third involved fires in the operating room. Others involved burns from surgical equipment or chemicals used during surgery, according to the review by the Canadian Medical Protective Association.

(snip)

For a fire to occur, “the three elements of the fire triangle must be present: ignition (heat), fuel and oxygen,” the CMPA says (the body publishes regular articles for doctors on how to avoid errors.)

Fuels abound in the OR, especially alcohol-based antiseptics used to clean and prep the skin before an incision. In some cases, the solutions were not given sufficient time to dry before the person was draped; in others, the solutions were allowed to pool under the patient, instead of being soaked up.

The prep agents remain flammable until completely dry. If too much is put on and it pools, alcohol vapours can form that can be easily ignited by the heat or spark from a cauterizing tool or other instrument, said Dr. Douglas Bell, the CMPA’s associate executive director.

[Nitram]

12. Flammable gas in the intestines can also cause an explosion under certain circumstances during a

procedure.

[Nitram]

10. A preview of health care in the US if the GOP gets its way.

Unless you're a millionaire.

[appalachiablue]

11. 'Voodoo' health care, lol and not funny

[hughee99]

13. Is the health care SYSTEM at fault here? I believe Romania

Has Universal healthcare. The problem doesn’t seem to be related to anyone’s ability to pay.

[Nitram]

14. Romanians believe the cause of the accident is that "Romania spends the least on its healthcare

system of any EU country, both per resident and as a percentage of its GDP. It has the highest child mortality rates on the continent, along with an underdeveloped hospital infrastructure and a persistent shortage of medical staff. "

According to the Guardian article on the same incident: "Despite some improvements after an increase in funding, Romania’s hospital system is still beset by dilapidated equipment and a shortage of doctors, and finds itself at the heart of repeated scandals."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/30/woman-dies-set-on-fire-surgery-romania

[hughee99]

15. So you are saying Romania has an inadequately funded national health care system?

I didn't think that was what Trump and the republicans were proposing, a national system.

[Nitram]

16. No, but they are proposing a system that will result in underfunded hospitals, less government

oversight, and poorer medical outcomes for the majority of the population. That's all I meant to suggest. What's your point?

[hughee99]

17. I haven't actually seen a proposal from them at all,

So my point was, you are comparing the Romanian system to a non-existent proposal.

[Nitram]

18. OK, so your point is the the GOP has not made a concrete proposal. My point is, just look to Romania

to see the result of a health care system that is allowed to fall apart due to lack of funding. You seem rather stuck on a minor semantic quibble.

[hughee99]

19. Romania is a great example of a poorly run healthcare system.

My “minor semantic quibble” is that you compared two things and one of those things does not exist.

Is that really a minor semantic quibble?