Claim infection caught in ICU

[Guest guest]

Claim infection caught in ICU

Pountney

27jun06

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19599379%

255E2862,00.html

Melbourne Herald Sun - Australia

PETER Chrzanowski is angry that his wife died from an infection he

says she caught where he thought she would be safe -- a hospital's

intensive-care unit.

Pamela Chrzanowski, 52, died from an aspergillus infection in April,

a month after being admitted to the intensive-care unit at

MacCallum Cancer Centre.

The mother of two spent several days in the ICU after suffering a

reaction to a drug she had been given to shut down her immune system

in preparation for a bone-marrow transplant.

After Ms Chrzanowski recovered from the reaction and completed

radiation therapy and chemotherapy, she was transferred to Royal

Melbourne Hospital for the transplant.

During recovery, she complained of pains in her chest and upper

back, and had difficulty breathing.

Tests revealed a fungal aspergillus infection in her lungs and Ms

Chrzanowski had surgery to remove a fist-sized section of lung the

bacteria had colonised.

" She had no immunity so it just grew, " Mr Chrzanowski said.

Two days after surgery she suffered complications, and in another

eight days she was dead.

Ms Chrzanowski is believed to be one of three patients who died from

the fungal infection after being treated in the East Melbourne

hospital's ICU.

After his wife died, Mr Chrzanowski said doctors told him another

patient had died 12 days earlier in almost identical circumstances.

" I thought they would have done something after this second death, "

Mr Chrzanowski said.

" I thought they would have chased the source or done something, but

obviously nothing was done at all. "

The farmer from Pearsondale, near Sale, said it was unbelievable

that immune-suppressed patients were put at such risk.

" I feel Pam's death was a complete waste, " Mr Chrzanowski said.

Ms Chrzanowski had been battling a condition known as pre-leukemia,

or low levels of red blood cells, for four years and had been

delighted when a bone-marrow donor was matched to her last year.

When Ms Chrzanowski died her white cell levels had returned to

normal but her red blood cells were still low.

MacCallum Cancer Centre released a statement saying it could

not discuss the case.

But it did add: " Deaths from aspergillus are not normally reportable

and are known to be associated with the treatment of severely immuno-

compromised patients. When Mac was alerted to these deaths,

considerable work was done to identify common links between the

patients. "