ROM is a major cause of pregnancy complications. Its misdiagnosis can fall in two categories:
In this scenario, you fail to diagnose a patient with ROM, a major complication of pregnancy. The adverse outcomes that can result from the failure of ROM diagnosis are potentially severe and well documented.
Medical Malpractice: Birth Injury
"Plaintiff's mother went to her obstetrician's office at approximately 30-32 weeks gestation complaining of leakage of clear fluid per vagina."
Finding for the plaintiff, $3,085,000
Medical Malpractice: "PROM or protein C: Which caused Injury?"
"A woman at 40 weeks’ gestation presented to an Ob/Gyn due to a suspected amniotic leak. After examining the patient, the physician determined no amniotic fluid was present and sent the woman home."
Finding for the plaintiff, $4,600,000
Mother of Twins Died After Misdiagnosis
"An inquiry into the death of a 34-year-old woman after she gave birth to twins at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Droghda just over a year ago, has found doctors at the hospital did not diagnose that her waters had broken when she presented to the hospital a few days before giving birth." The Irish Times, April 16, 2008
In this scenario, a healthy patient is diagnosed as having ROM and treated accordingly. For example, a minor urine discharge can be mistaken for amniotic fluid, leading to the patient being hospitalized, treated with antibiotics/corticosteroids/tocolytics, and having a premature induced delivery.
"Incontinence and Heartburn"
"Although they found I have a slight UTI, thankfully the amnisure test came back negative." My Merlot (http://my‐merlot.blogspot.com/)
