26-year Old Man Dies During Sleep Study

[Breathe Jimbo]

I had a call button.

What kind of hospital sleep lab does not give the patient a call button?

[Hosehead4ever]

Agreed here. The lab that I had my last sleep study done wasn't the fanciest place I've had one at but like the others, it was a hospital and had a call button. The problem with this case is that the man in question, being mentally handicapped, may not have been told he could press the call button for help or even able to comprehend what it was.

[Bugdude]

My gut feeling in this instance is the man in question suffered from schizophrenia and/or a really bad case of sleep walking. I guess he had some form of freakout having all the sensors etc on him.

[Hosehead4ever]

I know that children have to have an adult present (at least here in Maryland), and what I wonder most is this: Why, if he was That mentally handicapped and had all the medical problems he did (heart, etc) was he there alone without a caretaker with him?

[vette76]

Needs more INFO lol..................... just stood by lol ..Hmmmmmm wow look at that guy bleeding allover the place its no wonder why he is always tired all the time. Maybe after the test i will inform him of what is keeping him awake at night......."Said the nurse"

[stacia123]

I can tell you that there is no way in the world that it was a nurse that set up my sleep study nor a nurse that watched it all night.... it was MacDonalds burger flipping teens.

My first study was done at a hospital and I, too, had a young burger-flipper guy who told me first thing that he was untrained. Said he had gone to tech school for something else -- I think medical records -- and got this job because he couldn't find anything in his trained field. Hadn't taken "the class" yet, whatever that was. Having never had a sleep study, I didn't realize what a problem it would be. He was unresponsive to my calls for help to get disconnected and use the bathroom, and when he took the tape and sensors off my face he ripped off my skin. I got a lovely case of hospital-acquired MRSA from those face wounds and, 2 1/2 years later, still have a scar. On top of it all, they only did half the test they were supposed to. The hospital refused to talk to my doctor (who was livid) or to me, and I didn't have the money for a lawyer, so it all ended there. I think the insurance company forced them to lower the charges because they didn't do all the tests they claimed, though.

Went to a private sleep clinic for the re-test. No professional medical personnel on site, either, but this tech was licensed. He got a better result, he was responsive and helpful, and I didn't get injured. Big win! I know people would like to think a test in a hospital would be safer, but my experience was the exact opposite. It's training that's key.

[suefrances]

death of pt at north-side hospital sleep center2001 ......he came in walking, talking,good mood , never left the sleep center alive...why/ the techs were out smoking i mean outside.....the other tech had her back to the monitor she was busy with analysing other data , was not her pt by the way.....when the tech put the man in bed did the calibrations of the study she clearly saw the pt had multiple premature ventricular contractions of his heart , she failed to respond to that data less than an hr later when she finally looked at the monitor she saw the pt was in full cardiac arrest it was to late he died , this man was 47.....first the young man who died at Emory was a special needs pt ....his study should have been done in the hospital under close supervision, if indeed he had heart failure, diabetes, htn, the physician ordering the test should have had a in house study done... second the tech monitoring Mr. Lewis that night should have note the heart rate long before he died.....it is clear he was neglected for long periods of time.......the check time on all Pt's is every 15 min.... a tech log will clear this up if the protocols were meet

Code: Select all

.......i mean a had written tech log not a computer degenerated tech log for accuracy as to what happened that night.....i would like to see the video and the sleep study real time and i could tell you what happened HANDS DOWN!

[sleepyhead123456789]

Get rid of the director Dr. Nancy Collop! She put this patient at risk and still continues as director there! On top of that she is the president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine where she INSTRUCTS 9000 physicians to follow her type of patient care! email the CEO John Fox and DEMAND THE REMOVAL OF THIS ''CARING'' PHYSICIAN!
EMAIL HIM AT john . fox at emoryhealthcare dot org

[Cotay]

Interesting that Fox News is just today running a story on this:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/0 ... latestnews

[Lizistired]

Interesting that Fox News is just today running a story on this:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/0 ... latestnews

It's an update because of the trial. Nothing ne, just fox.

[Gale Hawkins]

Interesting that Fox News is just today running a story on this:

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/0 ... latestnews

thanks for any follow up info.

Sounds like the man was so near death for many reasons and that was not taken into consideration when looking at the risks associated with a sleep study in his case. I am not that large yet sleeping flat like that does not work for me either.

[Slinky]

Those are pretty sad looking sleeping quarters for a professional sleep lab!!!! And he does NOT look to be THAT obese. I expected he'd be in the 300-350 lb range from the descriptions of him. I can't say I feel any too sympathetic to the sleep lab after seeing this picture!

And, am I remembering correctly that this is affiliated w/Emery University hospital?? THAT Emory??? It looks like they converted a broom closet to a sleeping room.

Feb 09, 2010 AJC.com

... Harris, a medical assistant, entered the Emory sleep center on Jan. 22, said his mother, Renee “Sunshine” Lewis. By the next morning he was dead. ...

He couldn't have been too severely mentally handicapped if he could qualify and work as a medical assistant.

[NateS]

With this young man's mental and physical health problems, it is difficult to understand why his sleep study was not performed in a hospital, with him on a heart monitor etc. and a standard medical team on standby nearby.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... dying.html

Brandon Harris, who was mentally disabled, had been referred by his doctor to the Emory Sleep Center in Atlanta to determine whether he suffered from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition which causes difficulties in breathing.
But his family had allegedly voiced concerns about the study, saying that it was risky for Brandon to lie on his back for long periods of time because he was overweight and suffered from congestive heart failure, diabetes and high blood pressure.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1oIycOIBb

[Otter]

According to MyFoxAtlanta, Emory Healthcare would not comment on the bill because of the pending lawsuit, but said Harris’ sudden cardiac arrest was ‘appropriate’ given his medical condition.

That's a very strange choice of words.

[Slinky]

This is one of the articles closer to the time of the incident and not sensationalized quite so much.

11:18 p.m. Monday, February 8, 2010

By Craig Schneider and Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Controversy in the death of a 25-year-old man has pitted a family active in the metro Atlanta church community against one of the area's major medical facilities over a procedure generally regarded to pose little threat.

Family members have hurled accusations of medical negligence after Brandon Harris of Stone Mountain died in late January during a sleep study at Emory Healthcare.

Renee "Sunshine" Lewis, Harris' mother, said staff did not properly watch over her son, and he repeatedly gestured for help that did not come.

Harris' family members are calling for the hospital to close the sleep clinic until a full review is performed.

"We never knew he'd be dead," Lewis said. "Brandon did not receive the appropriate care from (the sleep center). Actually, in my opinion, he received no care at all."

Emory, in a statement, said that Harris died of sudden cardiac arrest and the hospital attended to him appropriately.

The DeKalb Medical Examiner's Office conducted its own inquiry into Harris' death and concluded there was no reason for its office to pursue further investigation. The office does not examine issues related to medical standard of care.

"He had significant medical problems ... He had a medical history that could explain a sudden death," said Paul Kelhofer, DeKalb County medical examiner's office director.

Harris, a medical assistant, entered the Emory sleep center on Jan. 22 and was dead by the next morning. Family members held a press conference and a protest. On Monday, they delivered a letter to Emory officials demanding the clinic close until they receive answers.

Lewis acknowledged her son had medical conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, but said he was using medication to treat the conditions. He also was overweight. A family friend, Michael Langford, said Harris had "heart challenges in the past."

Harris was brought to Emory for sleep apnea, which is a pause in breathing or shallow breathes during sleep. The disorder has been linked to hypertension, diabetes, heart failure and obesity, according to the Georgia Association of Sleep Professionals.

Emory said Harris was an outpatient in a sleep study performed on "medically stable patients who are observed sleeping by trained providers." The tests are considered safe. No drugs are administered to the patient. Sensors typically are applied to the person to monitor heart rhythms, brain waves and eye movements, hospital officials said.

Harris died of "sudden cardiac death, meaning that his heart stopped suddenly and without warning," the Emory statement said.

However, John Lewis, Harris' uncle, said the hospital allowed him to watch video footage of his nephew at the sleep center and he said there was negligence in monitoring Harris. The tape showed Harris waving seven times over 40 minutes apparently to draw someone's attention but no one responded, Lewis said.

A nurse responded when Harris removed sensors from his body. Harris walked to a nearby restroom and the nurse left, and he returned to the room and to bed.

Three nurses later entered the room and Harris appeared to be in discomfort. He tried to get up, lost his balance and fell, bringing emergency personnel, the uncle said.

"There is no reason he should have been neglected like that," John Lewis said.

Still the still pictures I've seen on the web recently the sleeping room looks like a converted broom closet, not something you would expect at a university sleep center. Nor did he look as grossly obese in those pictures as we were led to believe in some of the articles quoting his mother

And some quotes from his mother said he was a medical assisant yet she also said he was mentally handicapped.