A patient died from thermal injuries suffered during a flash fire in an Illinois hospital operating room earlier this month.
Janice McCall, 65, was undergoing eye surgery at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill., when the OR fire broke out, Ms. McCall's aunt tells KFVS, a local news station. Heartland officials confirmed in a statement that there was "an accidental flash fire in one of the hospital's operating rooms earlier this month, in which a patient received injuries" and that "the fire was immediately extinguished by operating room personnel."
Robert Howerton, attorney for the patient's family, says Ms. McCall was rushed to the burn center at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., for treatment. She died 5 days later from complications from thermal burns, according to the Tennessee Medical Examiner's Office.
The Marion fire chief has launched an investigation into the fire, and Heartland says it's "taking all the necessary and appropriate measures to address this incident." The hospital hasn't released any more specific information about the fire, citing patient privacy. Mr. Howerton tells the Associated Press he's requested records from the hospital to determine what happened.
Mark Bruley, an accident and forensic investigator with the ECRI Institute, tells KFVS that OR fires are rare (about 550 to 650 per year in the United States), and surgical fires resulting in death are even rarer (1 or 2 a year). The key to preventing them is staff education and training. "An informed healthcare community with the surgeons and anesthesiologists and OR nurses being informed on how to prevent the fires is the real critical issue," says Mr. Bruley.
Irene Tsikitas
