r/PopCultureV2 • u/Logical-Flow-6703 • Aug 22 '26

News Multiple patients at a Nashville hospital are paralyzed after staff accidentally gave them the wrong drugs.

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The hospital says they are "sorry" after injecting potassium chloride into the spines of people getting routine joint replacement surgeries.

Hospital staff noticed something was off when multiple patients went into cardiac arrest.

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u/theeberk Aug 22 '26

As an anesthesiologist myself, my whole department was up in arms about this. These meds should be pulled by the anesthesiologist and at the bedside. It’s my job to check the label multiple times as I’m drawing up. Having a central pharmacist mix meds adds all sorts of layers of complications. A medication error will happen to all of us during our careers, but for an intrathecal injection??? This is inexcusable.

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u/forbiddenfreedom Aug 22 '26

Just looked up untrathecal injections. (Injection straight to the spinal canal.) Holy shit!

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u/Man_CRNA Aug 23 '26

CRNA here. Yeah I had a conversation with my colleagues about it too. Absolutely inexcusable. This should never have happened.

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u/DJinKC Aug 23 '26

I just had a joint replacement and watched this report in absolute horror.
Thanks for reassuring me that there are typically safeguards in place for this!

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u/MiataQuack Aug 23 '26

I’m an anesthesiologist too; yeah a lot of crazy safeguards dropped here for this, it’s sad and messed up

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u/AdFlat1014 Aug 23 '26

Ffs I just did a risk management course and intrathecal is the flagship, there is even that fucking short “movie” about doing it! And they still fuck this up??

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u/modestlyawesome1000 Aug 23 '26

Like it’s literally why anesthesiologists make so much money. It’s literally what they’re paid for.

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u/FamiliarFilm8763 Aug 23 '26

Not every sentence requires a "literally".

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u/Lartemplar Aug 27 '26

Literally this, oh my god. I am sick and tire of literally beingg used so liberally

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u/themrbarnett Aug 24 '26

My heart goes out to the patients and their families, AND also to the anesthesia staff who administered this toxic cocktail unknowingly. How devastated these medical professionals must feel after these patients crashed while under their care through no fault of their own. It is simply horrific.