Deceased
Yongxing Wang
Demographics
79y, male
Coroner
Decision ofDeputy State Coroner Ryan
Date of death
2014-08-25
Finding date
2018-02-23
Cause of death
hypoxic brain injury due to cardio-respiratory arrest caused by opioid toxicity
AI-generated summary
Yongxing Wang, 79, died from hypoxic brain injury caused by opioid toxicity from combined morphine and oxycodone. After a minor back injury on 21 August, he received a cortisone injection on 22 August with complications. Dr L. administered two doses of morphine (30mg and 20mg) intramuscularly at home on 23 August without adequate documentation or monitoring. Wang showed clinical somnolence from 5pm that day—an early warning sign of respiratory depression. The expert consensus was these morphine doses were inappropriate given Wang's age (79), opioid naivety, concurrent oxycodone use, simultaneous use of other medications, lack of clinical assessment documentation, and absence of patient safety monitoring. No adverse findings regarding Dr L.'s initial management on 21 August were made. The critical issues were inadequate dose selection for elderly opioid-naive patients receiving home-based injections, absence of documentation of clinical assessment and drug administration, and failure to observe and respond to early signs of opioid toxicity.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
37y · Male·Combined effects of presumed heavy metal poisoning from an unknown material and …
A 37-year-old man with schizophrenia died between 14–18 August 2020 in bushland near Whiteman Creek NSW, from presumed heavy metal poisoning and freshwater drowning. He was experiencing a psychotic episode related to unm…
60y · Male·Ischaemic heart disease with a bleeding duodenal ulcer being a significant contr…
James Joseph Cunneen, a 60-year-old man with significant medical comorbidities (ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease), died from cardiac arrest due to ischaemic heart disease with a bleeding duo…
46y · Male·Respiratory arrest secondary to acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma caused by…
A 46-year-old man with poorly controlled asthma and known ibuprofen hypersensitivity presented to a rural hospital with chest pain. A remote on-call doctor prescribed aspirin without knowledge of the allergy or availabil…
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. Some material may have been redacted or restricted by court order or privacy requirements. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction — report an inaccuracy here.