Police investigate ‘disrupted catheters’ at Sunrise Hospital
Las Vegas police are investigating more than a dozen incidents of "disrupted catheters" that have occurred at Sunrise Children's Hospital since earlier this year.
Although no infant deaths have been tied to the problem, one young patient was reported in critical condition in the hospital's intensive-care unit, a hospital spokeswoman said in a prepared release Friday night.
Another patient who was affected required an additional procedure, but was doing well, she said.
The families of both affected patients were notified, she said.
The hospital is on Maryland Parkway near Flamingo Road
Hospital officials said they began investigating internally when in February they identified an issue with disrupted catheters at the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
In response they increased security in the unit, including the addition of surveillance cameras.
A catheter can be disrupted in numerous ways, including improper insertion, blockage or removal, but the hospital didn't specify how the disruptions might have occurred.
Reached by phone Friday, police Capt. Patrick Neville said the investigation is ongoing. He said hospital officials are cooperating with police.
"We are pleased that Sunrise Hospital was proactive by self-reporting this matter and by diligently notifying all the appropriate regulatory organizations," Neville said in a statement.
He declined further comment, deferring to hospital officials.
Ashlee Seymour, the hospital spokeswoman, declined to answer some key questions about the case, including if the investigation focused on people or employees of the hospital; the date of the latest incident involving a disrupted catheter, and the age and gender of the patient who is in critical condition.
She said she couldn't provide additional information other than what was released in the statement because of the ongoing investigation.
According to the hospital's statement, 14 disrupted catheter lines were discovered.
Most of them involved "peripherally inserted central catheters," or specialized catheters used in infants and children as a means of long-term access to a vein to provide nutrition, give medications or draw blood. Hospital officials discovered 13 of those types of catheter disruptions.
The other disruption involved an "umbilical arterial catheter," or as described on one medical website, a catheter that is placed into the artery of an "umbilical cord stump."
Hospital officials said disrupted catheters are a "known complication" in peripherally inserted central catheters, so their initial investigation focused on product performance and staff re-education.
After checking on catheter quality and retraining staff, no other catheter disruptions were found for several weeks, the statement said.
After retaining an independent lab to conduct an investigation, hospital officials said they increased security, installed cameras, removed staff from the vicinity and conducted an "ongoing review of clinical technique."
That's when they asked the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate.
The hospital also notified officials with The Joint Commission, a nonprofit medical accreditation organization; the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, the Nevada State Board of Nursing and the Southern Nevada Health District.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
