Babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

Nov 20, 2007 03:26 PM

by megananne7

Updated Nov 20, 2007 at 04:26 PM by sirI

I'm a new nurse and haven't worked in a hospital setting yet, but I was under the impression a lot of facilities were getting away from heplocks and using saline locks instead???

The twins were born to Quaid and wife Kimberly Buffington November 8 via surrogate.

Dennis Quaid's Newborn Twins in Medical Nightmare

TMZ has learned that Dennis Quaid's newborn twins are fighting for their lives after being inadvertently overdosed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Sources tell us the twins -- Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace -- were accidentally given a massive dose of Heparin, an anti-coagulant. Babies typically get 10 units. Our sources say they were each mistakenly given 10,000 units.

Article in its entirety:

http://www.tmz.com/2007/11/20/dennis...cal-nightmare/

*Jolie* · Nov 20, 2007, 04:23 PM

Re: Dennis Quaid's twins & other babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

The picture shows Dennis Quaid carrying 2 apparently healthy newborns. Are these supposedly the babies who are fighting for their lives due to an OD of heparin? Something doesn't quite add up between the picture and story.

If there was a medication error involving heparin, it would be a sad repeat of the recent events in Indianapolis.

**sirI** · Nov 20, 2007, 04:25 PM

Re: Dennis Quaid's twins & other babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

The picture is prior to this horrible event.

*Jolie* · Nov 20, 2007, 04:38 PM

Re: Dennis Quaid's twins & other babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

Originally Posted by sirI

The picture is prior to this horrible event.

Siri,

Why were the babies in the hospital then? I assumed that they were preemies, but this picture shows apparently healthy babies who were definitely not in need of NICU care. What took both babies back to the hospital with a need for IV access?

**sirI** · Nov 20, 2007, 04:49 PM

Re: Dennis Quaid's twins & other babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

Here is the announcement of their birth:

http://www.people.com/people/article...s-topheadlines

I do not have any other current links to the heparin story.

jtjames · Nov 20, 2007, 05:46 PM

dennis Quaids newborn twins gets 10,000 units of heparin

a nurse gave the newborn twins 10,000 units of heparin instead of 10 units at cedar sinai in LA. A tech apparently had left the wrong syringe and the nurse grabbed it and gave it to them. The babies started to bleed out. Apparently another 13 pts were also affected. Check out TMZ.com

cathys01 · Nov 20, 2007, 06:17 PM

Dennis Quaid's NB twins - OD on Heparin

This is from FoxNews today:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312357,00.html

LOS ANGELES — Dennis Quaid's newborn twins are fighting for their lives Tuesday after mistakenly being given an overdose of Heparin, a blood thinner, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, TMZ reported.

Ordinarily, babies are given 10 units of the anti-coagulant. However, a hospital technician who had stored the drug in the wrong place resulted in the babies' nurse giving them the massive overdose of 10,000 units of Heparin, TMZ said.

A source told TMZ the Quaid babies were given two doses, one Sunday morning and one Sunday evening.

The twins are being given Protamine, the Heparin antidote, and are said to be in stable condition.

*Jolie* · Nov 20, 2007, 06:20 PM

Re: dennis Quaids newborn twins gets 10,000 units of heparin

Originally Posted by jtjames

a nurse gave the newborn twins 10,000 units of heparin instead of 10 units at cedar sinai in LA. A tech apparently had left the wrong syringe and the nurse grabbed it and gave it to them. The babies started to bleed out. Apparently another 13 pts were also affected. Check out TMZ.com

I understand that part. My question is why were the babies in the hospital? Based on the picture in the original post, they apparently were healthy (near) term babies, discharged from the hospital. Why did they go back to the hospital and require IV access?

**sirI** · Nov 20, 2007, 06:25 PM

Re: Dennis Quaid's twins & other babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

Multiple duplicate threads merged for continuity.

Thread moved to Nursing News.

dawngloves · Nov 20, 2007, 06:26 PM

Re: Dennis Quaid's twins & other babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

"Ordinarily" babies don't get heparin.I have never given heparin to a neonate. Sure, it's mixed in with central access fluids, but unless these were cardiac kids I can't imagine why they were getting heparin.

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Babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

Babies given wrong dose of Heparin @ Cedar Sinai

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