Missouri medical board investigating death of man who became ill during vitamin IV
A doctor who owns a Kansas City wellness clinic is under investigation by the state medical board after a man got sick during a vitamin IV infusion there and died a few days later.
The man fell ill during a procedure at Element Wellness Spa Studio, a Brookside business owned by physician Kelly Logan.
The man’s autopsy determined he died of underlying medical conditions but also raised questions about whether he was a good candidate for the IV vitamin infusions, which are growing in popularity locally and nationally despite experts’ concerns.
Logan didn’t respond to a request for comment. Her attorney, John Mullen, said via email that “because of patient confidentiality rules, Dr. Logan is prohibited from discussing issues particular to any of her patients.” He didn’t respond to a follow-up email seeking comment on the medical board’s investigation.
The man who died was a 64-year-old resident of Johnson County. The Star is not identifying him by name because his family has asked for privacy.
According to the autopsy, he went to Element Wellness Spa in late November for his 12th IV vitamin infusion within three months.
About 10 minutes after the IV started the man felt like his skin was crawling. He started throwing up. The IV was stopped and he went home, where the vomiting continued and he spiked a fever of 103 degrees. The next morning he was admitted to the University of Kansas Hospital with symptoms of organ failure.
He died at the hospital three days later.
The autopsy says that extensive blood tests performed at KU for bacterial, viral and fungal infections came back negative. The man’s official cause of death was organ failure due mainly to cirrhosis of the liver, with contributing factors of high blood pressure and obesity.
But doctors who reviewed the report said an infection from the IV couldn’t be ruled out unless the IV materials were tested. The Jackson County Medical Examiner said KU Hospital officials requested the materials after the man was hospitalized but they were told that the Element Wellness staff had thrown them away.
The incident led Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, to say his agency would be exploring whether wellness spas that run IVs need more regulation. They currently aren’t included in the list of medical facilities the agency is required to inspect and license.
But Logan, as a licensed physician, is subject to discipline by the medical board if it determines she violated its standards of care.
Richard Maxwell, a field investigator with the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, sent a letter to The Star referencing its March 5 article about the man’s death and said the board “has opened an investigation into the Johnson County man that passed after receiving an IV at Element Wellness Spa.”
“Our investigation is focused on Dr. Kelly Logan, D.O.,” the letter states.
Other Kansas City-area physicians have faced scrutiny from the Kansas medical board for elective IVs.
The board suspended a doctor and a chiropractor last year from working at IV Nutrition in Overland Park, saying that the site didn’t have proper controls over dosages of potentially harmful substances like magnesium and that a customer who came into the clinic with nausea and vomiting didn’t get properly examined before being given an IV.
The two have since had their licenses reinstated after they agreed to change the way they practice. Their lawyer said they agreed to have the doctor review potential clients’ electronic medical histories before they’re given IVs.
When Meredith Leach Snyder applied for a Kansas physicians’ license to expand her mobile IV business across the state line last year, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts said her company didn’t meet its standards for medical record-keeping or having plans in place for patients who have allergic reactions.
Snyder was granted a license after she changed her practices, but was also required to take a medical record-keeping seminar and have her charts monitored for six months to ensure her company stays in compliance.
Elective infusions of vitamins began in Las Vegas, where they were touted both as a treatment for hangovers and a way to maintain health. They’ve since spread nationwide, thanks in part to testimonials from celebrities like the singer Adele. There are now several companies in Kansas City that provide elective IVs, at wellness spas and sometimes in clients’ homes.
The medical establishment has expressed skepticism, though, saying most Americans get all the vitamins they need by mouth and there are real risks every time a needle is inserted into a vein to put a substance directly into someone’s bloodstream, even by a medical professional.
