Incident 40182
Incident 40182
Texas nurse with HIV accused of steal vials with narcotics and replacing them with lidocaine.
A Texas nurse has been arrested on charges that he stole vials of a powerful narcotic to get high on the job and replaced them with the anesthetic lidocaine.
The arrest report says the nurse admitted injecting himself with five vials of hydromorphone he stole from a dispenser at Northeast Methodist Hospital, Fox 29 San Antonio reported.
The report says the nurse returned the vials to the dispenser after refilling them with lidocaine, the station reported. The thefts occurred in February, 2019.
The story becomes much more serious because the arrest report indicates the nurse has HIV and says that the hospital was unable to determine if he refilled the vials with the syringe he used to inject himself, according to the station.
The hospital said staff took precautions after the thefts were discovered and said that no patient was ever in danger of contracting HIV, Fox 29 reported.
Three of the five vials were sent for further testing, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
The nurse was charged with tampering with a consumer product and drug diversion and booked into the Bexar County Jail, the paper reported.
Approximate date(s) of the diversion:
06/15/2019
Where the Diversion Occurred:
Northeast Methodist Hospital
12412 Judson Rd, Live Oak, TX 78233, USA
Type of Healthcare Facility:
Hospital
Has the incident been reported?
e.g. to local law enforcement, county board of health, state licensure board, and/or federal DEA or FDA authorities?
Yes
To whom has the incident been reported?
Local Law Enforcement, , and/or federal DEA or FDA authorities?
