Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a widely respected Jewish institution, is facing lawsuits, investigations and embarrassment after heavy overdoses of radiation administered to 206 patients went undetected for 18 months.
The mostly elderly patients received eight times the normal dose of radiation during CT brain perfusion scans, used to diagnose strokes.
Hospital spokesmen have acknowledged that in February 2008 staff members reset a CT scanner, overriding the manufacturer’s instructions, to raise the radiation doses and enable improved analysis of the blood flow to brain tissues.
It was not until August of this year, when an overdosed patient called in to report that he was losing tufts of hair following the scan, that the hospital became aware of the mistake. After contacting the rest of the 206 patients, Cedars-Sinai learned that 40 percent of the group also suffered hair losses.
Overdosed patients face increased risk of brain tumors, which develop very slowly. National experts interviewed by the Los Angeles Times generally agreed that because the median age of the affected patients is 70, they are likely to die first of other causes.
Attorneys for the affected patients have filed class action and individual suits against Cedars-Sinai.
Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of the medical center, which is frequently in the news for its Hollywood celebrity clientele, apologized to the affected patients and said remedial steps had been taken to prevent a future incident.
The incident is another black eye for the highly rated hospital. In an earlier foul-up in November 2007, the newborn twins of actor Dennis Quaid were given 1,000 times the intended dose of blood thinner.
The California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are joining in an investigation of the incident.
