Hospital apologizes for heparin overdoses

Los Angeles -- An official at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles apologized for the error that led to several patients receiving overdoses of an anti-coagulant.

TMZ.com reported Tuesday that the newborn twins of actor Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, were listed in stable condition after they were mistakenly given massive doses of the anti-coagulant last weekend.

The report said both infants, born Nov. 8, started to "bleed out" Sunday night and were transferred to the neo-natal intensive care unit.

While the hospital didn't mention Quaid's children specifically, it released a statement apologizing for what it called a "preventable error," People.com reported.

"I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation, and we will continue to work with them on any concerns or questions they may have," said Dr. Michael L. Langberg, the hospital's chief medical officer. "This was a preventable error, involving a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures, and there is no excuse for that to occur at Cedars-Sinai. Although it appears at this point that there was no harm to any patient, we take this situation very seriously."

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.