Empty vials of fentanyl were found this Tuesday at the “Dr. Leónidas Lucero” Municipal Hospital in the Buenos Aires city of Bahía Blanca, where a shortage of 25 doses of that opioid had been reported. Sources in the case informed the Argentine News Agency that experts from the Scientific Police are working at the hospital, whose case has led to an investigation initiated by prosecutor Mauricio Del Cero of the Functional Unit of Instruction and Trial (UFIJ) No. 19. “The investigation continues to determine what happened,” the spokespeople for the case told the Argentine News Agency. Claudio Ibarola, head of the surgical department; Fernanda Bartolini, associate director; and Fernando Almarza, legal advisor, stated last week that the absence of the vials was “identified through weekly controls and the management of replacements to measure the traceability of any medication.” “In this case, it is a drug that is usually used in the operating room, to which workers in the area, from doctors to maintenance staff, have access,” they explained.
