MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A Minneapolis nurse allegedly took a painkiller meant for a patient having surgery and told him to "man up" before he writhed in agony, prosecutors said.
Sarah May Casareto, 33, a registered nurse who resigned from Abbott Northwestern Hospital rather than take a drug test after the incident, allegedly gave only 150 of the 500 micrograms of painkiller fentanyl reserved for the Nov. 8 surgery of a male patient identified as L.V.K., a criminal complaint stated.
L.V.K. later told Minneapolis police he had "never felt pain so severe" and a doctor said L.V.K. acted "unusual" as an incision was made into his back and an instrument was placed into his kidney, St. Paul, Minn., Pioneer Press reported.
Just before surgery, Casareto told L.V.K., "You're gonna have to man up here and take some of the pain because we can't give you a lot of medication," while she injected herself with some of his painkiller, the complaint stated.
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Casareto later told police she was dependent on pain medication.
County Attorney Mike Freeman, who charged Casareto with one count of theft of a controlled substance, would not say if authorities believed anything similar had happened to other patients.
Hospital spokeswoman Gloria O'Connell told the Minneapolis Star Tribune the incident "doesn't sound like something that we would want to happen to one of our patients."
She wouldn't comment on when the hospital reported the problem or to whom.
The hospital, ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report, also would not discuss why doctors continued operating when L.V.K. appeared in extreme pain.
Casareto did not respond to messages left at her home seeking comment.
If Casareto is convicted, prosecutors will ask for prison time rather than the probation called for by sentencing guidelines, Freeman said.
Fentanyl is an opium-based narcotic used for anesthesia. It's 100 times more potent than morphine and highly addictive.
