A Winnipeg mother-to-be is now worried and waiting after she alleges the doctor’s office mistakenly gave her medication meant for a woman who recently had a miscarriage.
Serissa McKay, 21, is two weeks away from having her baby. Last Wednesday, she showed up early for her doctor’s appointment to have an exam for Group B Strep.
As soon as she arrived, McKay said the receptionist came to her with two papers and two packets, each containing four small hexagon-shaped tablets. McKay was told to insert four of the pills and insert the second pack of pills 12 hours later.
But while she was in the bathroom, McKay said the receptionist called her on her cell phone.
“‘Did you take the medication yet?’ And I said ‘Ya I did.’ She said ‘Okay I need you to come back immediately.’”
McKay said she was brought into the examination room to see the doctor.
“And she urgently went about taking out the tablets. Counting as she was taking them out. And after that she went on as normal,” McKay said. “And she said ‘You’re Brenda right?’ And I said ‘No, I’m Serissa.’ And I was kind of shocked. She said ‘That was my next guess.’”
Mckay said the receptionist said the medication was meant for another woman who had just had a miscarriage.
Shawn Bugden, Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Manitoba, said McKay was given the drug Misoprostol. It’s a drug that can be used to protect your stomach from drugs like aspirin, but it’s also used to induce labour or used after a woman miscarriages.
“The dose she would’ve been given would’ve been intended for someone that had a miscarriage,” Budgen said.
Although she’s not sure, McKay believes the pills were inside her for about five minutes. Bugden said in that time, some of it could’ve been absorbed.
“There’s significant risk associated with this. It sounds like steps were taken to remove the drug as quickly as possible and it sounds like premature labour was avoided in this case, but it’s clearly a mistake and a problem,” Bugden said. “If she was earlier in her pregnancy it would be even more concerning, but you obviously don’t want to induce labour before term by accident.”
McKay has filed a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba and now has a new doctor.
Dr. Anna Ziomek, the registrar at the CPSM, said she cannot comment on any specific complaint, but if a formal investigation results in disciplinary action, the information will be posted on its website.
“It’s just a scary thing to think about. That such a big mistake can lead to this. Even though it wasn’t there for a long time,” McKay said. “She says the medication shouldn’t kick in, but if it does she told me what to do, which was just go to the hospital because there’s nothing she could do after taking out the medication.”
