Preamble: CJ was a 50-year-old man sent to a hospital’s emergency room (ER) from a long-term care facility for severe difficulty in breathing. The ER physician discovered that the patient was suffering from angioedema – a severe swelling of the lips, mouth and the upper airways – that can be life-threatening if not treated promptly. This condition was caused by a very commonly used blood pressure medication the patient was on – the Lisinopril. In the ER, the patient was put on a ventilator (breathing machine) and treated for angioedema successfully.
He was transferred back to the long-term care facility with a notation in the chart about the severe reaction to Lisinopril and that he should never be given this or a similar medication (e.g. Ramipril) again. The same evening, in the long-term facility, a different shift of doctor and nurses somehow didn’t get this information and the…
