Patient Suffers Fatal Heart Attack Due to Negligent Prescription

Case Overview

Questions to the General Surgery expert and their responses

Do you routinely prescribe Amiadarone to patients like the one described above?

I use Amiodarone routinely for similar patients.

If so, have you ever had a patient who was already taking Ziprasidone - and prescribed Amiadarone, even though it's contraindicated?

The literature is specific that the use of Amiodarone is contraindicated with Ziprasidone. The physician mentioned in this case overview should have known this.

Do you believe it's a departure from the standard of care to prescribe these two drugs alongside one another, knowing that they're contraindicated?

Since there are alternatives to Amiodarone, it would likely be a deviation from the standard of care to have prescribed it in this instance. Furthermore, insisting (to the pharmacist who was reluctant to fill the prescription) that the patient would be carefully monitored is not suitable reasoning for prescribing Amiodarone in this instance. I'd be happy to serve as an expert review of this matter on behalf of the plaintiff.

About the expert

This double board certified expert has been practicing for nearly 25 years. He completed research fellowships in both Cardiac Surgery and Thoracic Surgery, and he has been awarded the honor of Fellow of the American College of Surgeons as well as the American Association of Chest Physicians, while he holds membership in a multitude of other prestigious cardiothoracic and medical organizations. This expert has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles on cardiothoracic surgery and related topics and serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and Respiratory Medicine, among others. Currently, this expert is an Attending Thoracic Surgeon at a major medical center, where he also holds appointments such as Director of Thoracic Surgery, Surgical Director of the Thoracic Malignancy Clinic, and Vice-Chairman for Cardiothoracic Surgery.