“CRP is growing”
Mr. Krzysztof and Ms Marta have been trying for several years to have a child. Twice, in the early stages of pregnancy, there was a miscarriage. The couple underwent full diagnostics and qualified for the in vitro method. Unfortunately, these treatments also ended in failure. However, they did not give up hope and in December 2021 Marta managed to get pregnant.
– It was a miracle. The best 3.5 months of our life – recalls Krzysztof Sowiński.
After three months, Ms. Marta began to feel pain and tense abdominal pain. The woman was afraid of another miscarriage. The doctor responsible for the pregnancy decided to put a suture on the cervix for the woman. It is a commonly used prophylaxis against premature birth. Two weeks later, Marta showed up at the hospital with abdominal pain.
– The wife was contacted for a CTG to monitor her contractions. It was decided that she would be transported from the pregnancy pathology ward to the delivery room. She was in the 20th week of her pregnancy. At about 9 pm she called me from the delivery room. He said a neonatologist would come to her in a moment – Krzysztof reports.
“I am at the block and depending on whether there are contractions I will give birth. (…) I have infusions with magnesium and an antibiotic because the CRP is already growing. Yesterday I had CRP 1.2, today I am 18. When she is born, she will simply not survive, “Marta told her husband, who was documented in her recording.
CRP is a test that doctors use in medical diagnostics to find out if the patient’s body is inflamed. Marta made them the day before admission to the hospital and it was correct then. The CRP was also monitored in the hospital and its level continued to rise. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Mr. Krzysztof could not be with his wife, but they were always in contact by phone.
Sedatives
Ms. Marta was taking medications and an antibiotic but warned medical staff of further troubling symptoms. At 6:20 pm the midwife observed: “The patient reported having chills and a feeling of cold. Then the doctor ordered the administration of hydroxyzine. “
– All these symptoms were rather related to the stress experienced by the patient in the ward. (…) Hydroxyzine is a sedative drug. We know perfectly well that uterine tone can also be enhanced by the patient’s stress – explains Dr. n.med.prof. SUM Krzysztof Nowosielski, doctor in charge of the departments of gynecology, obstetrics and oncological gynecology. And he adds: -Such symptoms can have a very different etiology. After the single temperature was confirmed, antipyretic drugs were started, the patient was also on a broad spectrum antibiotic and we monitored her. The symptoms in question were considered to be tremors, not chills.
There is no trace of a tremor on the graph. The same evening the midwife observed: “At around 8:00 pm the patient reported that he was shaking and feeling sick. Doctor alerted. “The card also reads:” The chills have passed. It was noted that the symptoms subsided as soon as the patient was interviewed and distracted by the chills. “
An hour later, Marta reported other symptoms. She was hot. The midwife wrote a temperature of 38 degrees on the graph. The patient was given paracetamol and pyralgin.
– My wife was afraid of sepsis, she even said it in our conversation: “If only it did not end with sepsis, because first the baby will fly and then I” – says Krzysztof Sowiński.
Birth
The staff agreed that Mr. Krzysztof could enter the delivery room with his wife. The husband’s account shows that they were alone in the room during the whole action and the midwife came several times to visit them. At 03:15 am, several tests were ordered, including checking for procalcitonin, which is a very sensitive indicator of inflammation in the body. At 03:50 there were the results. They were extremely bad and could indicate the development of an infection. It has not been decided to pharmacologically accelerate the stillbirth of a stillborn fetus.
– Wife reported complaints, I called the staff. We heard that the wife has to give birth. Eventually, she gave birth, with the last strength left, passing out. The doctor came to see me that my wife is suspected of sepsis and they are taking her to intensive care. A newborn wife was brought into this room to greet her – says Krzysztof.
Despite the introduction of antibiotics and the removal of the uterus, which doctors said was the source of the infection, the woman’s condition worsened. Marta died in the night between 17 and 18 April, the third day of her hospital stay. According to her husband, the symptoms reported by her wife had been ignored and had not been treated properly in time.
– There are symptoms that could indicate an infection. This patient did not develop these symptoms. Sepsis is a catchy media term, but we don’t recognize sepsis in every patient that occurs. Just like not all patients are suspected of sepsis – points out Dr. n.med.prof. SUM Krzysztof Nowosielski.
– When that doctor said after giving birth that my wife suspected sepsis, I collapsed. I grabbed the wall, couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What is sepsis? When CRP is accepted, sepsis is normal after 20 hours. What happened? – asks Krzysztof.
There had to be a chariot, there is a tomb
After the funeral, Mr. Krzysztof requested complete medical records to find out what had happened in the ward. He was surprised by the rumors that the patient was rude, abusive, undermined the competence of the midwives and did not follow the recommendations of the staff. He categorically disagrees with them and that is why he has informed the prosecutor’s office and the patients’ rights ombudsman.
– It is disturbing that at the time of admission to the hospital the health of the patient and the child was good and during the hospitalization, when their condition worsened, no measures were taken to save the patient’s life and health. I would like to emphasize that I am saying this on the basis of the data received from the patient’s family. It does not change the fact that this is another case where the situation develops tragically as part of the hospitalization. I ask all patients who find themselves in such a situation not to be afraid to intervene. Their life and health are the most important – emphasizes lawyer Robert Bryzek of the Patient Rights Ombudsman.
The hospital in its explanations states that Martha, while treating infertility, weakened her immune system and that is why her body did not react. Hence, she refutes her husband’s allegations that doctors persuaded his wife to have a neurosis. The case is being investigated at the Katowice Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Ombudsman for Patients’ Rights.
– If there was no risk of sepsis infection, the question remains, why does the patient die under the supervision of doctors and midwives? How is it possible for a pregnant woman to die of sepsis in the hospital in the 21st century? – underlines Małgorzata Hudziak, legal advisor.
– Somehow I could come to terms with the loss of my son, because I had lost two before, but I will not accept the loss of my wife. The more I know that he could have been saved-says Krzysztof and adds: -This is what my life looks like now. I had to look for a pram, I was looking for a place to bury them.
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