Lawsuit alleges KC hospital gave patient a drug he’s allergic to during heart surgery prep
A Harrisonville man is suing a Kansas City hospital, alleging surgical staff gave him a drug he was allergic to during heart surgery prep two years ago, according to court documents filed Thursday in Jackson County Court.
John Sroufe, 57, alleges he was administered chlorohexidine while undergoing preparations for a coronary artery bypass graft at Research Medical Center on Jan. 25, 2023, per court filings.
Chlorohexidine is an antiseptic often used to sterilize wounds or clean parts of the body before surgery. For Sroufe, exposure to the disinfectant had caused difficulty breathing in the past, according to the lawsuit.
Sroufe had gone into the hospital two days prior to get a catheter inserted in his heart ahead of the surgery. When he was undergoing preparation for the coronary bypass surgery, nurses noted on Sroufe’s chart that he had had a bad reaction to the disinfectant, according to the lawsuit.
Chlorohexidine was also allegedly listed as one of Sroufe’s allergies on a sheet given to his anesthesiologist before surgery, according to the lawsuit.
When Sroufe went under for surgery, chlorohexidine was allegedly applied to his chest as a disinfectant anyway, according to the lawsuit. This caused Sroufe to go into anaphylactic shock and stop breathing, falling into acute respiratory failure.
Sroufe was placed on an artificial lung and was eventually admitted to Research Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit, where he fully recovered, according to the lawsuit. The incident extended Sroufe’s hospital stay and heightened his medical bills from the initial estimate associated with his planned heart surgery, the lawsuit alleges.
Along with Research Medical Center, Sroufe’s lawsuit names the surgeon who was supposed to perform cardiac bypass. The lawsuit accuses both the surgeon and the hospital of negligence. It alleges they breached their duty of care to him by failing to note his allergy properly, and by using chlorhexidine in surgery regardless of any allergy records that did exist.
Neither Research Medical Center nor attorneys for Sroufe responded to requests for comment .
Research Medical Center earned a C grade in the most recent round of Leapfrog safety rankings. Each November, healthcare watchdog nonprofit The Leapfrog Group assigns hospitals letter grades based on noted issues and standards of care.
In 2024, Research Medical Center earned below-average scores in 10 areas, including the worst possible score in nursing and bedside care for patients.
