Iowa hospital tech used NEEDLE to swap potent painkiller for saltwater, leaving hundreds of people with useless 'medication'

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Hundreds of people may have been affected by a Des Moines hospital technician's plot to steal 250 vials' worth of the potent painkiller fentanyl, it has emerged.

Iowa Methodist Medical Center has contacted 731 patients after the tech admitted using a hypodermic syringe to extract fentanyl and replace the substance with saline.

The hospital believes about 250 vials were affected, but it's not known how many of the patients contacted received vials containing saline, UnityPoint Health - Des Moines spokeswoman Amy Varcoe said Thursday.

Theft: A technician drained about 250 vials of powerful painkiller fentanyl and replaced them with saline, an Iowa Methodist Medical Center spokesperson said

Affected: The hospital contacted 731 patients who may have been affected, and the DEA is now investigating. The technician has now been fired from his position

The tech was fired on October 7 after a nurse reported finding a tainted vial the day before. 

He had passed a criminal background check and received solid references before starting his job on August 26, according to Varcoe.

The tech told the hospital 'he used a syringe to take out the medication and replace it with saline,' Varcoe said. 'What he did with it he did not tell us.'

'We don't know exactly how much of it was diluted. We're not sure how much was left or replaced,' she added.

According to a report by the Iowa Department of Health, hospital admissions for non-heroin opioid treatment increased from 422 in 2004 to 1,363 in 2015.

The tech voluntarily took tests for hepatitis B and C and HIV after concerns were raised that he may have used the vial syringe on himself, but the results came back negative. 

Records showed none of the patients complained of any out-of-the-normal pain, Varcoe said, and none faced any known physical risk.

The DEA is investigating, and while the tech has not yet been arrested, Varcoe says she believes he soon will be.

On October 6, all the fentanyl on the hospital's shelves was removed and turned over to DEA investigators, as were the more than 250 vials that were improperly accessed. 

Varcoe says the hospital has changed its fentanyl vendor to one that uses a more secure anti-tampering seal.

Drained: The tech used a syringe to drain the vials. He tested negative for HIV and hepatitis B and C, the hospital said, after concerns were raised about him using the needle on himself

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