Maradona requested alcohol and ‘tore out his own IVs' in days after surgery
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The director of the clinic where Diego Maradona had surgery two weeks before his death in 2020 testified Tuesday that the Argentine soccer star requested alcohol during the post-operative period and was difficult to deal with, which made his subsequent recovery in home care inadvisable.
Pablo Dimitroff, medical director of the Olivos Clinic, said that neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, one of the seven health professionals on trial requested 'a place' so the former player could undergo surgery in early November 2020.
Maradona had surgery for a hematoma that formed between his skull and brain and stayed in intensive care at Olivos between Nov. 4-11. He then was sent recover to a private home where he died on Nov. 25 of 2020 at age 60.
The deficiencies in Maradona's home care are one of the prosecution's key pieces of evidence against the defendants. from the Olivos Clinic.
Dimitroff said the surgery was not 'an emergency,' although there were indicators 'that it was necessary at some point.'
The operation was performed by a neurosurgeon at that center and it was routine, according to the medical director.
After the surgery, the former player displayed a 'difficult' temperament during his stay in intensive care and 'did not understand that he had to stay still,' Dimitroff said. He added that on Nov. 6, Maradona had 'a complex psychomotor excitation episode' that resembled alcohol withdrawal, which was what he was demanding, the manager indicated.
'We were dealing with an aggressive patient who tore out his own IVs; he was a very difficult patient to take home,' Dimitroff stated.
Dimitroff explained that he discussed the situation with Luque and Agustina Cosachov — Maradona's psychiatrist, who is also on trial — and with the former soccer player's family.
According to Dimitroff, both Luque and Cosachov requested sedation for Maradona which was carried out at the clinic for approximately 24 hours.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
37 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
DHL to Invest €500 Million on Africa, Middle East Expansion
Logistics giant DHL Group plans to invest about €500 million ($575 million) in health-care services in Africa and the Middle East over the next five years to capitalize on China's push into the regions. The German company is looking particularly at Africa for growth opportunities, with time-critical shipments of vaccines, stem-cells and cryogenics all target areas, EMEA health-care head Annette Naude said in an interview.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Wheat Ridge to allow freestanding emergency care facility to be built on Wadsworth corridor in the Colorado city
At June 9's Wheat Ridge City Council meeting, an ordinance was passed that effectively paved the way for freestanding emergency departments to be built and operate within the city limits. CBS One such area is slated to be on the corner of 38th Street and Wadsworth Boulevard. "(This) for the first time allows freestanding emergency departments to be built in mixed use zones," said Dan Larson, Wheat Ridge's District 4 Councilor. Freestanding emergency departments -- also known as freestanding emergency rooms -- are effectively emergency care facilities not attached to a hospital. If someone is dealing with a life threatening condition, first responders can take them to a facility like this before deciding if they will send them further to a full-service hospital. The condition of giving this lot of land to HCA Healthone, who operate Rose Medical Center in Denver, is that the freestanding ER also be a part of a larger medical campus in the adjacent plaza on 38th. The total size of the lot is about 5 acres. While the ordinance passed in a council meeting on Monday, it wasn't without some resistance from residents and health care professionals. One big issue revolved around individuals' understanding what freestanding ERs actually are. "It cannot and does not provide a level of care to the level of a real hospital and many of your elderly especially at Wheat Ridge," said Douglas Martel, a former cardiologist at Intermountain Lutheran, during public comment. Critiques like his specifically revolved around cardiac emergencies like heart attacks or strokes. Freestanding ERs, he argued, were not capable of handling those types of emergencies the same ways that full service hospitals are and thus might confuse potential patients and lose them precious time to be treated. "If you want to keep excellent care in your community and for your constituents you will oppose this ordinance," Martel advocated. Other issues from residents included billing and insurance coverage as well as accessibility. Freestanding ERs built a reputation in the early 2010s for "being predatory," as Larson put it, to patients with exorbitant costs that they didn't account for until after treatment. Councilman Larson told CBS Colorado that a big reason the freestanding ER was on the table was because of Intermountain Lutheran's move to the west side of town, creating a need for an emergency care center on the east side. Additionally, Larson said, the regulatory standards for these types of clinics had been changed, allowing Wheat Ridge to not worry about having too many of these services in ways others have. "The regulatory environment in the state of Colorado in terms of licensing, in terms of building practices has changed," Larson said. "The city of Wheat Ridge has changed."
Medscape
2 hours ago
- Medscape
Fast Five Quiz: Opioid Use Disorder
Opioid use disorder (OUD) currently impacts approximately 16 million people worldwide. It is considered a significant public health issue, with experts noting a 'burden that is increasing' globally. As research into optimal management of OUD evolves, updates to clinical guidelines emphasize a more individualized approach to pharmacologic treatment, psychosocial support, and special considerations for specific patient populations, such as pregnant individuals. However, OUD remains a complex disease that comes with many serious health and legal concerns for both patients and clinicians. What do you know about OUD? Check your knowledge with this quick quiz. Despite pharmacologic treatment being known to be highly effective for treating OUD, a CDC report states that 30% of patients with OUD who require OUD treatment received only nonpharmacologic treatment. Further, 43% of patients did not perceive a need for OUD treatment at all. In this significant report, males aged 35-49 years were most likely to receive OUD treatment with medications, while females and younger and older adults had lower rates of access to pharmacologic interventions. The CDC concluded that engaging patients needing OUD treatment with pharmacologic interventions is 'essential.' Learn more about essential statistics for OUD. Data from a predictive-model study indicate that service setting was the strongest predictor for premature discontinuation of OUD treatment. The strength of this predictor declined with length of stay, becoming negligent after 365 days. Other system-level factors such as geographic region, primary source of payment for treatment, and referral source were also strong predictors of early discontinuation; individual factors such as age of first use, sex, and race were less predictive. Previous research cited by the study has also stressed the importance of reducing system-level barriers to care, and the updated federal guidance for opioid treatment programs have expanded access in several ways. Learn more about OUD guidance. Precipitated withdrawal can occur when transferring a patient from methadone to buprenorphine due to buprenorphine being only a partial opioid agonist; as such, the traditional method of transfer involves putting the patient in a controlled, moderate withdrawal state before initiating buprenorphine therapy. However, a novel dosing strategy called microinduction, which involves starting buprenorphine at submilligram doses (or 'low-dose induction'), and cross-tapering with methadone can prevent precipitated withdrawal. Additionally, this method is ideal for patients who want to switch from methadone to buprenorphine and those with chronic use of intravenous or intranasal fentanyl. A recent systematic review found that microinduction and traditional transfer methods had similar rates of successful induction of buprenorphine at 95.6%. Learn more about safe withdrawal practices for OUD. Both the CDC and the latest American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) guidelines specifically state that pharmacotherapy for OUD should be offered as early as possible in pregnancy to prevent harms to both the patient and the fetus, noting that pharmacotherapy for OUD has been associated with improved maternal outcomes. ASAM specifically states, 'increasing the dose or split dosing is often required, especially in the third trimester.' Federal guidelines emphasize that pregnant individuals seeking treatment for OUD are considered a priority for enrollment in opioid treatment programs. Once receiving treatment, they do not generally recommended medically supervised withdrawal from pharmacotherapy for pregnant patients as it might harm the fetus and patient; further, ASAM guidelines state that patients who undergo medically supervised withdrawal are at an increased risk for 'return to opioid use.' However, if a patient decides to proceed with medically supervised withdrawal, ASAM guidelines suggest physicians provide education and resources regarding associated risks. The CDC also specifically recommends against abruptly discontinuing opioids during pregnancy, citing data and resources from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Learn more about OUD. Federal guidelines specify that opioid treatment programs must conduct at least eight random drug tests per year on their patients. These tests must use FDA approved products that test for commonly abused substances that might affect patient safety, recovery, or adherence to OUD treatment. ASAM affirms this requirement, noting that many patients might need more frequent testing and that eight tests per year 'should be viewed as a minimum.' Learn more about drug testing in OUD. Editor's Note: This article was created using several editorial tools, including generative AI models, as part of the process. Human review and editing of this content were performed prior to publication.
