CHOA Egleston complaint alleges delayed pressure-wound care and infection misdiagnosis before chronic mastoiditis
The complaint alleges that a five-year-old patient with severe neurological disabilities was hospitalized for five weeks for seizures, pneumonia, sepsis, and respiratory failure. During that stay, staff placed EEG monitoring electrodes on her head and forehead. Staff noticed pressure wounds on her forehead and scalp when the electrodes were removed. They did not find a more serious wound on the back of her head for about three weeks. Within a few months she developed chronic folliculitis around the wounds, followed by recurring infections, rashes, and fever. Staff treated the infections as viral for over a year before determining they were bacterial, and the infections spread to the bone behind her ear. The complaint alleges she now has chronic mastoiditis, constant pain, and has been placed in home hospice care.
Overview
This page concerns a public complaint alleging that a children’s hospital did not timely treat pressure wounds caused by EEG monitoring electrodes. It alleges staff then misdiagnosed the resulting infections in a severely disabled child.
Chronology
The complaint alleges as follows:
- The patient, then five years old and severely disabled, was hospitalized at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Egleston from May 23 through June 26, 2019. She was treated for seizures, pneumonia, sepsis, and respiratory failure.
- Around May 25, 2019, staff placed EEG disk electrodes on her head and forehead to monitor for seizure activity during medication administration.
- When the electrodes were removed the next day, staff noticed deep-tissue pressure wounds in several places on her forehead and scalp.
- Staff did not notice a more serious wound on the lower back of her head until about June 19, 2019, roughly three weeks later. They had to shave part of her hair to treat it.
- At discharge her parents were given instructions to apply topical ointment to the wounds.
- Within a few months she developed chronic folliculitis around the wounds and scars. It caused recurring infections, rashes, and fever throughout her body, plus alopecia and scarring. Staff treated the infections as viral for over a year before determining they were bacterial.
- The infections spread into the bone behind her ear, and she was diagnosed with chronic mastoiditis. She remains in constant pain and has been placed in home hospice care.
Alleged failures
The complaint alleges the following failures:
- Hospital staff did not timely inspect and properly treat the pressure wounds. They did not find the wound on the back of her head for about three weeks.
- Staff misdiagnosed her recurring infections as viral rather than bacterial and did not properly treat them for more than a year.
- The hospital did not properly train its staff in the care and treatment of deep-tissue pressure wounds.
- The filing alleges these failures were reckless and so grossly negligent as to support punitive damages.
- The complaint pleads medical negligence, malpractice, and respondeat superior, plus simple negligence in the alternative and separate gross negligence. It attaches an expert affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1.