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Last update - 10:42 04/04/2008 Health Ministry: 'Complacence, negligence' cause patient's death By Ran Reznick, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Soroka Medical Center, Israel  A patient who suffered massive bleeding during an angioplasty in Soroka Medical Center died 16 hours afterward due to the doctors' "complacence" and "negligence," a Health Ministry report states. The Health Ministry is set to discuss the report in the coming weeks. Rafael Elul, 48, of Netivot, suffered from heart disease and was hospitalized due to chest pains. He underwent an angioplasty to clear an obstruction in his heart on June 25, 2002. Advertisement However, the cardiologists failed to diagnose the complications that occurred during the procedure - a ruptured heart artery and groin artery - or treat the massive bleeding that ensued. One of the doctors even dismissed the patient's distress signals during and after the catheterization procedure as "delirium tremens," and ordered psychiatric consultation. The Health Ministry's investigation into the case found that "communication among the medical teams treating the patient had broken down." The investigating committee found that the cardiologists' "complacence" led to the failures, and Elul's death. The examination was held at the demand of attorney Ruth Eran on behalf of the family. Elul worked as a road works contractor. He left behind a wife and eight children. All the doctors who treated Elul during and after the catheterization were partners in failing to diagnose and treat the severe complication, concluded the report, which was presented to the Health Ministry in February 2007. However, the one "mainly responsible" was Dr. Akram Abu-Fol, the cardiologist who carried out the angioplasty and who had the X-rays during the procedure, which showed the cardiac artery rupture. He was also called to examine the patient after the procedure, following Elul's complaints of strong chest and stomach pains. Professor Haim Hersko, who wrote the report, recommended filing disciplinary charges against Abu-Fol for severe negligence. During the catheterization, Abu-Fol diagnosed a significant narrowing of two arteries and performed angioplasty with a balloon and a stent to widen them. During the procedure, Elul suffered pains and was restless. An anesthetist was called in to administer partial anesthetics. At about 1 P.M., Elul was transferred to the intensive care unit. For six critical hours, he complained of strong chest and stomach pains and shortness of breath. At least four doctors examined him, including Abu-Fol, but none of them found the problem. One wrote in the patient's medical file that he "drinks alcohol every day," so she decided to call in a psychiatrist, believing he was showing "signs of delirium tremens." But the family told the committee that the patient did not drink alcohol regularly. At about 6 P.M., Elul went into cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated and taken to an operating room, where the doctors found that he was suffering from cardiac tamponade and a ruptured liver. "The bleeding was so massive that they had to open the stomach twice," the report says. He died at about 4 A.M. the morning after the catheterization. "He wasn't examined properly by the medical team, and some of them said he was spoiled or needed a psychiatrist, not a doctor," Elul's elder daughter Carmit Alon told Haaretz. "We were shocked by the medical staff's treatment," she said. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Bridging the gap A flashy addition to Jerusalem's entrance merges the old and the new. Two years later Captive soldiers' families lash out during ceremony marking Shalit's kidnapping.   1.   `Complacence, negligence` cause patient`s death 13:56  |  Haim Branisteanu 04/04/08   2.   Communication Failure 14:00  |  Joe Protekzia 04/04/08   3.   further proof that Israel`s health care 15:13  |  Dror 04/04/08   4.   Frightening Stuff 20:14  |  Ron 04/04/08   5.   This is VERY common in many hospitals 23:38  |  M 25/06/08

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