 Botulism before Beauty Botulism is a potentially lethal paralyzing disease caused by a bacterium known as Clostridium botulinum. Botulinum toxin A is available by prescription for cosmetic and therapeutic use. No cases of botulism have been attributed to cosmetic or therapeutic botulinum toxin injection. However, on November 27, 2004, four cases of suspected botulism with a link to cosmetic application were reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The inquiry discovered that a Florida physician with a suspended medical license injected botulinum A neurotoxin into his own facial muscles as well as three of his patients. The neurotoxin he injected was not BOTOX, but rather a highly concentrated serum that is intended for research purposes only. The physician’s staff thought that they had diluted the serum for use but failed to do so correctly.
All of the patients who received the injections experienced progressive weakness and had other evidence of brain injury. The patients were so ill at one point that they required ventilatory support, though all did survive. The serum was evaluated and found to be 2,857 times the estimated dose that is considered lethal to a human. Testing in three of the patients found their toxin levels to be 43 times the lethal dose. Patients and healthcare providers must be aware of the extreme danger of the illegitimate use of unlicensed botulinum toxin products. Patients should also take the time to investigate the healthcare professional who will be administering their BOTOX injections.
Contact our office regarding our ability to assist your practice with cases like this one. We also have in-house educational offers regarding this subject that we can provide for you and your staff. Our legal nurse consulting services include:
- Identify, locate, review and interpret relevant medical records, billing records, including other documents and tangible items
- Organize, tab, and paginate medical records for easy identification and reference
- Prepare medical chronologies of the sequence of medical events pertinent to the case issues
- Summarize, translate and interpret medical records, billing records to enhance the attorney's understanding of the healthcare issues involved
- Research and summarize medical and nursing literature. Integrate the results of the literature search into the case analysis
- Analyze validity of opposing parties’ medical research
- Draft initial theories of negligence to assist the attorney in drafting the complaint
- Prepare questions for deposition or trial examination (direct or cross)
- Prepare medical aspect of interrogatories, requests for production and request for admissions
Reference:
Chertow Daniel S., Tan, Esther T., Maslanka Susan E, et al. Botulism in 4 adults following cosmetic injection with an unlicensed, highly concentrated botulinum preparation. JAMA. 2006;296:2476-2479.
For more information on this issue please
see Contact Us
and see how our services can work for you.
|
