Anna Siena could have been saved. This is the key point set out in the ruling by which the sole judge of the Court of Naples, Filippo Potaturo, sentenced the doctor who examined her at the Vecchio Pellegrini Hospital to two years in prison, diagnosing her with lumbosciatica instead of acknowledging an ongoing pregnancy. A misdiagnosis that proved fatal.
The 36-year-old woman had gone to the emergency room complaining of severe abdominal pain. She didn't know she was pregnant; it was a cryptic pregnancy, a rare but not exceptional condition. Even the medical staff failed to notice the presence of the fetus, which was already dead. Subsequent tests revealed that the pain was caused by serious complications related to the fetal retention in the uterus.
After the examination, Anna Siena was prescribed only painkillers and discharged. Three days later, on January 18, 2019, she stopped breathing. The autopsy revealed that she died of hemorrhagic shock due to disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, a condition directly related to retained dead fetus.
According to the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, the woman would have had a good chance of survival if she had been properly examined and thoroughly tested upon her initial admission to the hospital. This assessment is shared by the Naples Prosecutor's Office, which supported the prosecution in the manslaughter and assault trial, securing the conviction of the health worker.
Anna Siena's family was represented in the legal proceedings by lawyers Sergio and Angelo Pisani. "I hope this ruling will help save other lives," stated lawyer Sergio Pisani, emphasizing that cases of cryptic pregnancies are more common than commonly thought and require greater clinical attention.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's a shame he didn't notice the pregnancy; the misdiagnosis led to a tragedy. It would have been important for doctors to have performed more thorough checks to avoid this type of very serious situation.