Physician Sued for Mismanaged Fecal Occult Blood Test

ByCody Porcoro

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Updated onNovember 1, 2017

Physician Sued for Mismanaged Fecal Occult Blood Test

A general practitioner was sued for neglecting a patient’s care when a pregnant woman, whose fecal occult blood test results were never communicated to her, passed away one year after giving birth. During her pregnancy, she had been told to complete the fecal occult blood test when she told her doctor that she had been suffering from extreme exhaustion. Later that month, her doctor received the results indicating that the screening test was positive for blood in the stool. These results were never relayed to the patient and there was no follow up requested. She was seen on at least three separate occasions after this with no mention of the positive test results or any need for follow-up, and gave birth to her child eight months later. She later began to complain of abdominal pain, and was diagnosed with moderately differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma, a rare malignant mucus-producing neoplasm. She passed away shortly after the diagnosis, and her doctor was accused of neglecting her care by not communicating the results of the fecal occult blood test.

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1. Please briefly explain your expertise in relation to this case.

Expert Witness Response E-007204

inline imageI am the Solid Tumor section Chief at my Institution and was the Medical Oncology fellowship program Director. I routinely teach my residents on this matter, and have extensive professional experience in the field.

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