How a patient entered a doctor's office with a cough... only to end up in a COMA for 42 days 'thanks to bungling doctor'

Dr Antonio Ocana, onwer of Ocana Medical Center in Florida, was accused of malpractice after his patient ended up in a coma

A man in Florida ended up in a month-long coma after his cough was ignored by doctors, a lawsuit claims.

Rafael Cardona, 75, visited Ocana Medical Center in Tampa on January 14, 2019, with a sore throat, body aches, and cough.

A lawsuit filed by Mr Cardona does not specify 'whether a physical examination took place,' but the patient came back 10 days with 'a deep cough with chest pains and upper left back pain.' 

The clinic's owner, Dr Antonio Ocana, either did not perform or did not document performing an evaluation, according to the complaint.

Instead, he allegedly prescribed an Albuterol inhaler, corticosteroid prednisone, and pain reliever Tramadol based on what he was told by another provider in the office. 

After he was rushed to the hospital days later, doctors discovered Mr Cardona actually had pneumonia and had gone into sepsis.  

Rafael Cardona, 75, was placed in a medically induced coma for 42 days after his pneumonia was ignored, causing him to go into sepsis (stock)

When Mr Cardona returned the next day, the pain had radiated to his left mid-back, worsening when he took deep breaths. 

The complaint, obtained by the Miami Herald, said that Dr Ocana 'signed off on the visit note' but 'did not perform or did not document performing an in-person evaluation.' 

'The standard of care required that [Dr Ocana] refer [Mr Cardona] for specialized or emergency consultation during the Jan. 24, 2019 or Jan. 25, 2019 visit.'

On January 28, Mr Cardona was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia and sepsis, which kills one American every 90 seconds. 

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This led doctors to place Mr Cardona in a coma for 42 days. As sepsis attacks healthy tissues and organs, a medically induced coma can help slow the damage.

And because about a third of all sepsis cases are caught in a hospital, it can mean that doctors have to admit wrongdoing and face litigation. 

Sepsis occurs when an infection causes a freak overreaction of the immune system, in which chemicals in the bloodstream go haywire. 

Instead of sending infection-fighting white blood cells to attack a foreign invader, it targets healthy tissues and organs such as the limbs and the lungs and kidneys, leading to organ failure and, at times, amputations.

Sepsis is responsible for 300,000 deaths and is the leading cause of hospital death in the US. And for every hour that treatment is delayed, the chance of death increases by four to nine percent. 

Mr Cardona was also left with a pulmonary abscess, a cavity in the lung filled with pus usually caused by a bacterial infection like pneumonia. If left untreated, an abscess can rupture and cause fluid to leak into the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

According to the complaint, the malpractice suit against Dr Ocana was settled in 2022, and Mr Cardona was awarded $237,500 from Dr Ocana's insurance.