Lead-up to medicine error

Mr Sotirios Temopoulos had a medical history that included multiple myeloma with a myelomataus lesion in his cervical spine, in which he was prescribed a fentanyl patch and pregabalin for neuropathic pain.

He also lived with a deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, meningitis, liver steatosis, depression, pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, chronic renal impairment, hypercholesteraemia,  and had suffered a stroke.

At the time of his death, Mr Temopoulos received a weekly DAA from Quality Pharmacy in a separate DAA to those of his wife, Ekaterini.

In his DAA were:

• metabolic syndrome
• colecalcirerol
• coloxyl with senna
• oxycodone
• escitalopram
• atorvastatin
• pantoprazole
• aspirin
• valaciclovir 
• lenalidomide
• oxycodone/naloxone (Targin).

Earlier in July 2020, Mr Temopoulos began taking lenalidomide, a chemotherapy drug, for his  multiple myeloma, which was infused at Box Hill Hospital once a month. However, on 20 July, after a fall from his bed, he could not attend due to increasing back and kidney pain which were later diagnosed as lumbar spine fractures and he spent several days in hospital.