Hospital apologizes for heparin overdoses

By M&C US News Nov 21, 2007, 16:58 GMT

Dennis Quaid - Los Angeles, CA © Glenn Harris / Photorazzi

Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles has issued an apology for the accidental overdosing of the Quaid twins in the NICU unit.

An official at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles apologized for the error that led to several patients receiving overdoses of an anti-coagulant.

TMZ.com reported Tuesday that the newborn twins of actor Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, were listed in stable condition after they were mistakenly given two massive doses of the anti-coagulant last weekend.

The report said both infants, born Nov. 8, started to "bleed out" Sunday night and were transferred to the neo-natal intensive care unit.

While the hospital didn't mention Quaid's children specifically, it released a statement apologizing for what it called a "preventable error," People.com reported.

"I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation, and we will continue to work with them on any concerns or questions they may have," said Dr. Michael L. Langberg, the hospital's chief medical officer.

"This was a preventable error, involving a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures, and there is no excuse for that to occur at Cedars-Sinai. Although it appears at this point that there was no harm to any patient, we take this situation very seriously."