I found a blue baby two weeks ago

[delilah]

It was about the scariest experiences I have had in my entire life. It was the first time I had ever seen the mom or the baby--he was three weeks old at the time. Mom was more concerned about some "spit dermatitis" he had around his mouth and that he had a "cold" (ie, couldn't eat because he couldn't breath because he was not getting any oxygen to his organs). He was gray at rest, and turned the color of a storm cloud when he cried. I cut the exam short, and got on the phone to the cardiologist at the Children's hospital as soon as I could. Turned out he had situs invertus totalis with dextrocardia, along with tetrology of Fallot. He had surgery the next day.

I haven't yet told the pediatrician (yes, board certified pediatrician) who saw him in the hospital, sent him home to follow up with lowly me, a family doctor about his "heart murmur". I should say so. Actually, mom told me that the pediatrician refused to see him the day before I did, because the baby had medicaid. Wow. Amazing. Maybe I should just send the other doc the discharge summary. The baby is doing well, and was released from the Children's hospital Monday this week.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

What? In English please.

Although it sounds totally creepy.

TOV

 

[wdwmom2]

Yep, do the d/c summery, I hope the ped feels about 2 inches high!!! And the Medicaid thing , that's just not acceptable!!!!!

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Wow! That poor baby. How long was the baby in the Hospital originally? Could the baby have stayed pink until after discharge?

 

[nwdisgal]

Good thing for that baby that you acted on your medical instincts. Wow! I would definately have a follow up with the pediatrician. Medicaid is not a reason to turn someone needing emergeny treatment down for services, but I'm sure there are lots that do that. Thank goodness you were one that didn't.

 

[#1MMFan]

What a nightmare! I would have been shocked and probably have second-guessed myself if I'd seen this too and known that a paediatrician had said things were fine! I've PM'd you!

 

[minkydog]

Good catch! You saved this child's life.

 

[mickeyminnie]

Not seeing a patient who needs them, especially a ped is unacceptable.

That being said remember that the baby might not have had the oxygenation symptom until the PDA closed and that can take a few days sometimes, so perhaps the baby was pink while in the hosp, although you would think they would be a bit more worried about a murmmer.

Glad you sent baby on and they got the treatment they needed, that is one messed up cardiac system, hope they do well.

 

[DisneyPhD]

scary, but less so because you caught it.

Good thing the mother brought her to you. The scariest thing is how medicad patients often get 2nd class treatment. (I worked as a therapist in the psychiatric unit of a inner city mostly medicaid based pateint load.) Often the care is band aid care, not preventive or long term.

What a learning experince for you too.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

What? In English please.

Although it sounds totally creepy.

rent the movie "Something The Lord Made." It is about the Blue Baby condition and the Doctor and Assistant that developed the operation.

 

[DisneyCP2002]

How scary. Glad to hear this had a good outcome though.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Good for you for taking action! My dd had Tetrology of Fallot. I lived with that for 3 months, changing colors, couldn't breath, etc...
Scariest time of my life.

Thank goodness things went well.

 

[dbarker]

How about reporting the Ped to the AMA? Isn't refusing to see a patient unethical? What about his Hypocratic Oath?

 

[DawnCt1]

How about reporting the Ped to the AMA? Isn't refusing to see a patient unethical? What about his Hypocratic Oath?

If the peds hasn't accepted the baby as a patient and at some point, implied that he was that child's doctor, yes, he can refuse to see a patient. DH saw a child in the ER several years ago with a serious infection. He consulted with the peds of the mother's chosing, however when the child got to the office, the peds refused to see the child because he was on "medicaid". Fortunately the mother returned to the ER. It is getting more common in states like Florida for physicians to refuse to see patients that are on Medicare. My cousin spends half of the year in Fla. She was diagnosed with a gyn problem that needed to addressed the day before her return to Fla. She contacted the gyn that she had seen a few years before when she was not on Medicare. The physician refused to see her despite pleas from the CT. Gyn. In actuality, if she saw my cousin as a Medicare patient, she would have to see any Medicare patient who sought treatment. You cannot "cherry pick". I am wondering if this particular peds was avoiding the "crime" of cherry picking. Edited to add, my cousin had so much trouble securing the care of a competent gyn before March that she drove all the way back to Ct.and had her care delivered here.

 

[crazee4mickey]

What is a "blue baby"? You sound like a very caring person, the kind of doctor everyone hopes to have at some point--where you care about the person not the money.
I don't know if what you guys call a blue baby is the same as here because it almost sounds like something that can be treated whereas we had a neighbor lady who lived well into her 80's and she was a "blue baby". Her skin was a constant shade of blue, not just slightly either and she was this way from the day she was born. It is probably the same thing and maybe because she was born so long ago there wasn't a treatment available as there is now
Not sure but she was defianately blue........

 

[LuvN~Travel]

It was about the scariest experiences I have had in my entire life. It was the first time I had ever seen the mom or the baby--he was three weeks old at the time. Mom was more concerned about some "spit dermatitis" he had around his mouth and that he had a "cold" (ie, couldn't eat because he couldn't breath because he was not getting any oxygen to his organs). He was gray at rest, and turned the color of a storm cloud when he cried. I cut the exam short, and got on the phone to the cardiologist at the Children's hospital as soon as I could. Turned out he had situs invertus totalis with dextrocardia, along with tetrology of Fallot. He had surgery the next day.

I haven't yet told the pediatrician (yes, board certified pediatrician) who saw him in the hospital, sent him home to follow up with lowly me, a family doctor about his "heart murmur". I should say so. Actually, mom told me that the pediatrician refused to see him the day before I did, because the baby had medicaid. Wow. Amazing. Maybe I should just send the other doc the discharge summary. The baby is doing well, and was released from the Children's hospital Monday this week.

Glad you saw that baby. Wow!

On the flip side, when our daughter was born she was born with birth defects. After being in for three weeks, they discharged her to us to take home. However, after about four weeks back in she went. Quit breathing at home.
The hospital here kept her for two weeks clearing up an infection in her chest, but this just wondeful pediatric specialist they had up there then, kept asking US what was wrong with her! Now, we weren't the ones with the medical degrees. The very day after they discharged us that time, our regular pediatrician immediately sent us to Children's Hospital in Birmingham, to get her seen. He knew that she had birth defects, and even though he didn't know the diagnosis at least he referred us somewhere else. The other doctor...I don't think he ever had a clue. And didn't even have sense enough to refer us elsewhere.
Kim

 

[delilah]

Wow! That poor baby. How long was the baby in the Hospital originally? Could the baby have stayed pink until after discharge?

He actually was in for the normal amount of time--about 48 hrs. The hospital notes sound like the only abnormality was the murmur. For complicated reasons that have to do with the newborn circulatory system, he may have looked fine at the time. The defect that he has in more simple terms is that all of his internal organs are a mirror image. So, when I listened to his heart, is was on the right side instead of the left. People can have dextrocardia and be otherwise normal, but, the other defects were what was making him blue.

 

[binny]

That must have been so scary!! I hope the baby is going to be ok!


They have told me I have Dextra cardia but made it out to be " Just another thing" Is it that scary in and of itself or is it because there were so many other things involved?


Both the ER doc and my family doc just kind of shrugged it off like "oh isnt that something?"


I know my heart beat is backwards. So I have to tell them everytime they do an EKG because they always think Im having a heart attack because the lines are backwards.


Anyway, probably TMI and sorry to hijack your thread but you seemed so concerned and I was just curious.
Thanks!

 

[chris1gill]

All I can say, is OMG That is terrible

 

[chrissyk]

If the peds hasn't accepted the baby as a patient and at some point, implied that he was that child's doctor, yes, he can refuse to see a patient. DH saw a child in the ER several years ago with a serious infection. He consulted with the peds of the mother's chosing, however when the child got to the office, the peds refused to see the child because he was on "medicaid". Fortunately the mother returned to the ER. It is getting more common in states like Florida for physicians to refuse to see patients that are on Medicare. My cousin spends half of the year in Fla. She was diagnosed with a gyn problem that needed to addressed the day before her return to Fla. She contacted the gyn that she had seen a few years before when she was not on Medicare. The physician refused to see her despite pleas from the CT. Gyn. In actuality, if she saw my cousin as a Medicare patient, she would have to see any Medicare patient who sought treatment. You cannot "cherry pick". I am wondering if this particular peds was avoiding the "crime" of cherry picking. Edited to add, my cousin had so much trouble securing the care of a competent gyn before March that she drove all the way back to Ct.and had her care delivered here.

I think that you mean "Medicaid" and not "Medicare" Either way, it sounds very wrong, though.