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Dentist In Fatal Sedation Breaks Down During Testimony(Inapoi)

CHICAGO -- A dental assistant who helped treat a 5-year-old Chicago girl who died after being sedated said she was hired despite having no training.

Zoila Ocampo testified Friday before a state board that will help decide if Dr. Hicham Riba can continue to practice dentistry. Ocampo's testimony was dramatic. After she guessed what a stethoscope was used for -- "To check the heartbeat, right?" -- she told of how Riba asked a man fixing a door to help hold the little girl down while he administered medicine intravenously. NBC5's Phil Rogers reported that when asked if Brownridge was gasping for air, Ocampo said she did not know what that term meant. Ocampo also said she did not recognize a blood-pressure cuff. Ocampo, who gave Brownridge the first sedative, said she forgot the name of the sedative, adding, "it was a yellow pill." Rogers reported that during the hearing, Riba's emotions ran the gamut from composed to emotional. Riba described how he gave Diamond Brownridge 1.3 milliliters of a sedative known as diazepam, and was shown forms that he gave Brownridge 1.2 milliliters of the sedative five minutes later. While Riba said the second dose was much less, four other documents, including one that he filled out for paramedics, indicated the higher dose. A medical expert said Brownridge was given four times more sedative than would have been appropriate for a child her age. Riba broke into tears when he said he often thought about Brownridge.
"There's no minute that's passed without thinking about Diamond and her family," he said. "About the tragic death that took place."
The girl died Sept. 27 after spending four days on life support.
The state's chief of medical prosecutions contends Diamond's death could have been prevented if she was properly monitored.
Prosecutors from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation accused Riba of gross malpractice, saying he didn't take the most basic precautions to prevent the girl's death, including monitoring her respiration. They also said that Riba's license does not allow him to sedate the girl as deeply as he did.
Riba "should never be allowed to practice dentistry ... in the state of Illinois again," said Sadzi Oliva, the department's chief of medical prosecutions.
Riba's attorney countered that his client is a good dentist who has never been sued for malpractice in his 9-year career, during which he has treated thousands of patients. Riba filed a lawsuit against the regulations board this week claiming the state suspended his license without cause and without allowing his attorney to be heard.
"One bad result in a 9-year history of serving the people of Illinois,' said attorney Glen Crick, who suggested the extensive news coverage of the girl's death played a role in the state agency's decision to suspend Riba's license.
Riba also testified on Friday, saying he'd trained his assistants, including Ocampo, but acknowledged that he never showed them how to monitor blood pressure or use a stethoscope.
In short answers, he also acknowledged that when he left the room after the procedure he assumed that Ocampo was monitoring the little girl's pulse, but could not be sure.
"I was not in the room," he said.
Riba also said there was no indication of any problem after the procedure and, in fact, he told Diamond's mother that the little girl had done very well. It wasn't until he returned 10 minutes later and found the girl's heart beating far more slowly than normal that he asked his office to call 911 and started administering CPR.
Throughout his testimony, Riba acknowledged he had not monitored blood pressure, pulse and respiration before the procedure. He also said that he initially wrote down the wrong amount of medication that he gave the girl, and changed it a few weeks later when he realized his mistake and knew he was going to be testifying under oath.
Sursa: NBC.com
Data: 16.10.2006
Link: http://www.nbc5.com/news/10071965/detail.html
Introdus de: admin

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