Truro hospital glitch may have affected hundreds of patients By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE / Truro Bureau

TRURO - Results of close to 1,000 urine protein tests conducted at Colchester Regional Hospital since 1999 were wrong.

Dr. Shaun MacCormick, medical director and chief of staff, said Monday a laboratory computer was programmed with an incorrect formula five years ago, resulting in urine protein counts 10 times lower than they actually were.

Dr. MacCormick said it is unlikely the erroneous test results led to any deaths. "This is one test, and physicians don't treat tests; they treat patients," he said. High amounts of protein in urine may signal kidney disease or damage. If kidney disease or damage is suspected, physicians will sometimes order 24-hour urine tests to look at protein levels.

The wrong results could have meant delayed diagnosis or treatment in some cases, but Dr. MacCormick explained other tests would have indicated the correct diagnosis.

The hospital spokesman said a sharp-eyed kidney specialist was credited with alerting the hospital to the problem after reviewing and comparing raw data to test results on March 30.

Hospital staff identified the problem, and the software problem was corrected. The error related only to the reporting of protein amounts from these tests.

"While health organizations like ours have checks and balances in place to try to prevent errors, they can and do occur," Dr. MacCormick said.

"We certainly regret this error and apologize for any concerns this error may cause. Our main priority is to ensure that individuals who may have been affected by this error are notified and receive appropriate followup," he said.

No other hospital in this province used the same computer system, but all have been advised of the error.

An estimated 730 patients were involved in the 24-hour and 12-hour urine protein tests, which involve saving urine in a large container for testing at the hospital.

There have been 981 such tests conducted at Colchester Regional Hospital since April 1999. The hospital is mailing letters to the 730 patients involved and their physicians to advise them of the error. "We are constantly looking for ways to strengthen our system to try to prevent or reduce the risk of errors," Dr. MacCormick said. "When errors like this occur, we need to be open about what has happened to minimize the impact on our patients and determine if there are new safeguards that we should be putting in place."

As a precaution, laboratory staff have worked with equipment suppliers to verify the accuracy of all other formulas used in the laboratory reporting system.

Halifax Herald

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