Hospital Mistakenly Gives Abortion Drugs to Pregnant Patient in Shanghai

By That's, December 9, 2016

Staff at a Shanghai hospital mistakenly gave a pregnant woman in Shanghai abortion drugs, local media report.

The drugs were administered at the Shanghai Pudong Maternal and Child Health Hospital to a woman who was less than four months pregnant, according to Sina. The woman later miscarried.

Using the pseudonym Jiao Li, the woman told media about the incident. Jiao was first prescribed the drugs over the summer after a routine checkup. During the checkup she was told that she had 11 milimeters of pelvic fluid. Jiao and her husband later looked it up online and were recommended to have a doctor look into the fluid.

When Jiao visited the hospital in question, she was told that the situation was more serious, and the doctors recommended she stay in the hospital for further treatment.

At one point during her stay, nurse staff came in and administered a drug, not checking the full name on the package. She began experiencing adverse effects shortly thereafter. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that she had been administered Mifepristone. The drug is intended to terminate early pregnancies.

After realizing the mistake, staff suggested transferring Jiao to another hospital to perform gastric lavage.

But the doctors at the nearby Chuansha Pudong New Area People's Hospital said it was unsafe to carry out the procedure because she was 17 weeks pregnant, so they recommended she drink water to induce vomitting. Jiao drank over six millileters of water following their recommendation.

That evening, Jiao experienced pain, nausea and vaginal bleeding. But the hospital did not perform any checks to see if damage had been made to the fetus. She was eventually discharged on July 21.

On August 29, Jiao suffered a miscarriage.

In response to the incident, Shanghai Pudong Maternal and Child Health Hospital admitted "medical negligence" on December 7 and announced that the staff involved had been suspended. But the hospital defended against accusations of "medical malpractice," arguing that the medicine might not necessarily have had any effects on the fetus, as the dosage was far less than normally prescribed during abortions. The suspended staff have since resumed work.

The Pudong New Area Health Family Planning Committee issued a statement of sympathy to the patient and announced that mediations are ongoing.

[Image via Kwong Wah]