PATIENT'S DEATH

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23753, 26 September 1942, Page 4

PATIENT'S DEATH

OVERDOSE OF LOCAL ANAESTHETIC

(P.A.) DUNEDIN, Sejft. 25. Proceedings at the adjourned inquest to-day concerning the death in the Dunedin Hospital on September 10 of John Cowie, aged 78, of Alexandra, revealed that an overdose of local anaesthetic was administered by the surgeon in charge of the case, Dr. O. R. B. Pringle, who admitted that he had made a mistake in ordering an excessive percentage of desicaine to be administered to the patient before an operation for enlargement of the prostate gland. The Coroner (Mr H. W. Bundle, S. announcing his verdict in accordance with the evidence of Dr. D’Ath, who had performed a postmortem examination, stated that Dr. Pringle had not attempted to divert from himself any of the responsibility for the unfortunate happening. The Coroner added that he felt it his duty to suggest that the hospital authorities should consider the advisability of seeing that some check was made when anaesthetics were ordered as in the present case. Dr. D’Ath in his evidence explained that desicaine was one of the newer types of local anaesthetics and had been in use in Dunedin for about five years. For a surface injection a 2 per cent, solution might be used, but only in very small quantities. For an injection internally, however, not more than .2 per cent, might be used. The amount ordered in the present case had been obviously excessive.