Quaid Medical Screwup -- How It Happened
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Sources tell TMZ that a pharmacy technician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center mistakenly stocked a massive dose of a drug that ended up being given to Dennis Quaid's newborn twins.
Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace are in stable condition. But a well-placed source at Cedars tells us they are "still very concerned because of the bleed out," adding they won't know for another week if the mistake will cause "longterm effects."
Sources tell TMZ that pharmacy technicians stock the drug Heparin, used to prevent clots and flush out IVs. The drug comes in vials -- 10 units for babies, up to 10,000 units for adults. Protocol at the hospital is to keep the different units separated, but a technician accidentally put 10,000 units in the drawer where the 10 units were stored.
Last Sunday, both infants -- born November 8 by surrogate -- were each given two, 10,000-unit dosages. They began to bleed out just before midnight and were transferred to the neo-natal intensive care unit.
Cedars issued a statement last night, acknowledging the mistake and calling it a "preventable error." That's highly unusual. Also, the hospital claims seven patients were given the wrong dosages. Our sources say 13 patients got the wrong dosage.