DALLAS — Thomas Eric Duncan’s temperature spiked to 103 degrees during the hours of his initial visit to an emergency room — a fever that was flagged with an exclamation point in the hospital’s record-keeping system, his medical records show.
Despite telling a nurse that he had recently been in Africa and displaying other symptoms that could indicate Ebola, the Liberian man who became the only person to die from the disease in the U.S. underwent tests and was sent home.
Duncan’s family provided his medical records to The Associated Press — more than 1,400 pages in all.
When he first showed up at the hospital, he complained of abdominal pain, dizziness, a headache and decreased urination. He reported severe pain. Doctors gave him CT scans to rule out appendicitis, stroke and other serious ailments. Ultimately, he was prescribed antibiotics and told to take Tylenol, then returned to the apartment where he was staying in Dallas.
In a statement Friday, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital said it had made procedural changes and continues to “review and evaluate” the decisions in Duncan’s care.
