Quoted from http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-10-16/why-did-sidney-denham-die
Why did Sidney Denham die?
Project on Government Oversight
October 16, 2015 · 11:30 AM EDT
By David Hilzenrath (follow) and John Crewdson (follow)
On July 14, 2011, a retired social worker named Sidney Denham was taken to an emergency room in Savannah, Georgia.
Weeks after undergoing prostate surgery, and days after resuming use of a relatively new blood thinner called Pradaxa, the 81-year-old widower was bleeding profusely from his urinary tract. He had lost so much blood that his pressure had plunged to about half the normal level and his body was in shock. In the intensive care unit, a medical team deployed treatment after treatment in a struggle to save him.
One of Denham’s daughters, Kay Denham, recalled the scene: “More blood than I think I've ever seen in my life … Millions of people in the room … They could not control the bleeding.”
A hospital record shows that Denham was given 12 units of red blood cells and another 12 of fresh-frozen plasma—almost two gallons. He was pumped with platelets and other blood products. He was put on dialysis to purge the Pradaxa from his system. Nothing worked.
Even as they replaced his blood, it was draining out of him.
“It was horrible,” said daughter Mary Denham, “that feeling of helplessness, for the people in the ER and for us. There was nothing they could do to stop the bleeding. My sister and I watched him bleed to death.”
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