Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan's fever reached 103 degrees during his first visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas' emergency department Sept. 25, according to medical records his family released to the Associated Press.
The fever was marked with an exclamation point in the records, though a physician's note from Sept. 26 states Mr. Duncan was "negative for fever and chills," according to the AP report. The records also confirm Mr. Duncan told a nurse he had recently traveled from Africa to the U.S., though he said he had not come into contact with anyone potentially carrying the Ebola virus.
On Sept. 26, Mr. Duncan was sent home with antibiotics and instruction to return if his condition worsened. On Sept. 28, he returned by ambulance and tested positive for Ebola. He was immediately placed into isolation, and on Oct. 4, the hospital downgraded his condition from serious to critical. He died Wednesday morning.
The hospital has faced criticism for not testing Mr. Duncan for Ebola on his initial visit given his travel history. The hospital's parent company, Arlington-based Texas Health Resources, has released several statements to explain the discharge, first stating the medical team was unaware Mr. Duncan had been in Africa, and then stating the travel information had been disclosed and entered into the EHR but a flaw kept that travel information from displaying in the physician's workflow. The hospital has since backpedaled, saying there was no flaw in the EHR system and Mr. Duncan's travel history was available to the whole care team. Previous hospital statements also said Mr. Duncan's fever during his initial ED visit was 100.1 degrees and "low-grade."
In a statement released Friday, the hospital said the incident was still being reviewed and the intake process has been altered "to better screen for all critical indicators of the Ebola virus."
The Texas Department of State Health Services may investigate the hospital for state health and safety law compliance, a department spokeswoman told AP.
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