Throughout the United States, nearly 100,000 people die in hospitals annually from medical errors.
The Alternative Daily lays out 11 incidents of medical errors.
Here are four shocking medical errors from the report:
1. Patient receives wrong blood type during transplant surgery. Nearly a decade ago, a patient at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Hospital received a heart and lungs transplant. However, surgeons allegedly donated the organs with the wrong blood type, which caused the patient's body to reject the transplant. Although the patient received a second transplant merely two week later with the correct blood type, the patient suffered severe and irreversible brain damage and passed away, The Alterative Daily reports.
2. Surgeons remove wrong organ. Surgeons removed a patient's right testicle mistakenly, rather than the left, at West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, according to the Los Angeles Times. The patient had metastatic testicular cancer in 1989 and underwent this surgery in 2006 after having pain in his left testicle. The consent form, which the surgeon signed, stated the patient's right testicle was to be removed, however.
3. A 13-inch metal retractor left in patient's abdomen. After having surgery to remove a 13-pound cancerous tumor at Seattle-based University of Washington Medical Center, surgeons left a 13-inch metal retractor in the patient's abdomen, Seattle PI reports. After discovering the item was left in the patient, surgeons removed the retractor and the patient did not suffer any long-term health consequences.
4. Patient is awake during surgery. In 2006, a patient underwent exploratory surgery so surgeons could identify the source of his abdominal pain at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley, W.V. However, the patient felt surgeons cutting due to insufficient anesthetic. While a surgical team allegedly gave the patient paralyzing drugs, they did not give the patient general anesthesia until 16 minutes after the initial cut into his abdomen. The patient, suffered severe emotional trauma and killed himself in February 2006, according to The Alternate Daily.
More articles on quality & infection control:
FDA bans chemicals in Antibacterial soap, found no difference from 'ordinary' soap: 4 things to know
Mosquitoes in Miami test positive for Zika: 4 key takeaways
CDC: Dwindling Zika funding to leave US in vulnerable state — 10 things to know
