A Manitoba doctor who prescribed a pain-relief patch that resulted in the death of a teenager has been censured by the province’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Tiffany Whitter, a 15-year-old girl, died after taking Duragesic, that she had been prescribed by Dr. Murray Reimer of Winkler after weeks of chronic headache. The skin patch is not recommended for children.
On the next day Tiffany was gasping for breath and couldn’t be wakened. She had a cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to hospital and never regained consciousness.
The details of the circumstances that led to Whitter’s death, along with a censure against Reimer were revealed last week by the college’s investigating committee. This reprimand will remain permanently on the physician’s publicly available record.
He also had to pay $2,759 to cover the investigation’s cost.
‘‘I really hope it will make the doctor himself think twice about the drugs he is giving,’’ said Carol Whitter, Tiffany’s mother. ‘‘Maybe doctors that have many years of practice aren’t as careful as they should be. Maybe it’s a good thing to have a wake-up call.’’
A Duragesic skin patch contains Fentanyl, a synthetic narcotic similar to morphine, but causing fewer side-effects.
The committee wrote in the reprimand that Reimer should have been aware that Duragesic is not recommended for patients under 18 or for patients without tolerance to the side-effects of narcotics.
The warnings were included in a document containing information for physicians on the approved use of a drug and possible side-effects and warnings.
Reimer left the county, so he was not available for comment.
