People's Pharmacy: Hospital error a close call for diabetic

Q: I am a type 1 diabetic. Last year, I went to the hospital because I had ruptured a spinal disk. My wife and I gave my history and my current drug usage (which was in the hospital electronic medical record).

During the week before and after back surgery, my blood sugars climbed as high as 700 mg/dl. Even through a Vicodin haze, I knew I wasn't getting enough insulin.

I was finally admitted to the ICU for intensive insulin therapy. I later learned that on at least three days, my Levemir insulin injection was not given, and on the day of the surgery, no insulin at all was administered.

My own physician found this care appalling. Another doctor said blood sugars that high could trigger stroke. I was astounded that the hospital said no mistakes were made.

A: Errors in care during hospitalization are not rare. A study in 2010 showed that one in five hospital patients suffered harm, and 40 percent of the problems could have been avoided (New England Journal of Medicine, Nov. 25, 2010). A government study found 180,000 Medicare patients die each year because of health care gone awry (Health and Human Services, November 2010).

We include a safe-patient checklist in our book "Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them." Bring an advocate who can be assertive on your behalf. Double-checking medications also is crucial.

Q: I had red, wet cracks at the corners of my mouth. I began using Mentholatum on my lips every night. That cleared it right up!

A: Laboratory research has shown that camphor and menthol, the active ingredients in Mentholatum, have antifungal activity (Phytotherapy Research, April 2003). That may explain why Mentholatum worked against angular cheilitis (cracks at the corners of the mouth).

Write to Joe and Teresa Graedon c/o King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th floor, New York, NY 10019, or http://www.peoplespharmacy.org

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People's Pharmacy: Hospital error a close call for diabetic