CHICAGO – Nearly 1 in 20 Americans older than 50 have artificial knees, or more than 4 million people, according to the first national estimate showing how common these replacement joints have become in anCINCINNATI – An Ohio coroner says a 7-month-old Indiana baby died after his body was flushed with alcohol and not a saline solution during heart surgery at a Cincinnati hospital.
Hamilton County Coroner O’dell Owens said Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center reported the Aug. 21 death of Tressel Meinardi of Richmond, Ind., to his office that night.
Owens said Children’s reported that alcohol was accidentally put into the baby’s body rather than the saline solution.
The hospital has said it cannot comment because of federal privacy laws.
Owens said there’s “no question a mistake was made” and that the boy’s family knows about the alcohol.
Messages seeking further comment were left at the coroner’s office and at the home of Meinardi’s parents, Scott and Emilie Meinardi.
