Investigation launched into Amsterdam hospital's medical study with 14 deaths

The Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate launched an investigation into the Amsterdam Medical Center because of a medical study among patients with bile duct cancer in which 14 patients died. The deaths in the study were much higher than expected, AD reports.

The Inspectorate already carried out two inspections at the Amsterdam hospital and requested documents. "A report is currently being written about these visits", a spokesperson said to the newspaper. The Inspectorate will publish these reports due to the "social unrest caused by this incident", the spokesperson said.

The study involved started in 2013. It involved two methods of draining fluid from the liver. Half of the patients had a tube inserted through the throat, the other half through the skin. The goal was to determine which method was most effective, with the expectation that the second method would have fewer complications.

Of the 27 patients who had a tube inserted through their throat, three died. Of the 27 in which fluid was drained through a tube in the skin, a massive 11 died. There was no clear explanation for that difference, according to the newspaper. The study was halted in 2016.

The AMC did not share this information with patients or the public for a long time. The termination of the study was only revealed after investigation by newspaper AD.

The Amsterdam hospital was also in the news in July due to a medical study with an unexpectedly high number of deaths. A total of 11 babies died whose mothers had participated in a study of a medicine against growth deficits in the baby during pregnancy. This study was also halted.