A district court judge has ruled that a Wyoming hospital was wrong to suspend an anesthesiologist in 2006 over missing fentanyl and that the suspension was based on inaccurate anesthesia drug records.

Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County suspended anesthesiologist Edmund Boese, MD, in December 2006 when records showed more than 1,400 micrograms of fentanyl had gone missing over a 5-month period. A subsequent review of the records revealed instead that about 400 micrograms had gone missing — a loss Dr. Boese said could be attributed to "broken drug containers, incorrect amounts being dispensed or a nurse's error," according to an AP report. District Judge Nena James recently sided with Dr. Boese, saying he was wrongly suspended.

Efforts to reach Dr. Boese for comment through his attorneys were unsuccessful.

Irene Tsikitas