Texas Anesthesiologist Sentenced to 190 Years for Deadly IV Tampering

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a Texas anesthesiologist named Dr. Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. injected harmful medicines into intravenous (IV) bags at a surgical center, resulting in one death and many cardiac events. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 190 years in federal prison.

In April, Ortiz, 60, was found guilty of deliberate medicine adulteration and consumer goods tampering. Presiding over the sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge David Godbey said Ortiz's acts were "tantamount to attempted murder" and held him liable for the death of a coworker.

Many patients at Baylor, Scott & White SurgiCare in North Dallas experienced cardiac crises during routine surgeries between May and August 2022. Investigators followed the source back to contaminated IV bags. One bag included a mix of medicines, including bupivacaine, epinephrine, and lidocaine, which caused extreme symptoms, including elevated blood pressure, heart failure, and pulmonary edema.

Following an 18-year-old patient experiencing a major cardiac emergency during sinus surgery and an anesthesiologist from the same institution dying following self-administration of an IV bag for dehydration, the tampering was found. These events sparked more investigation and generated questions about whether the bags had been purposefully contaminated.

Emphasizing the terrible effect of Ortiz's acts, the DOJ labeled his crimes "a terrible betrayal of trust." His sentence emphasizes the horrific results of sacrificing patient safety.

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