Inquest into the death of Ronald TURNER
Deceased
Ronald Turner
Demographics
81y, male
Date of death
2020-01-26
Finding date
2022-04-05
Cause of death
Consequences of bowel obstruction
AI-generated summary
Ronald Turner, an 81-year-old man in lawful custody, died from consequences of bowel obstruction with aspiration pneumonia. He had a history of recurrent sigmoid volvulus despite previous surgery. On 22 January 2020, he reported abdominal symptoms; initial assessment was reasonable. On 23 January, he deteriorated acutely with low blood pressure and vomiting, appropriately transferred to hospital. Flexible sigmoidoscopy achieved successful decompression. However, unexpected vomiting on 25 January led to aspiration pneumonia and respiratory distress requiring ICU admission. The coroner found no clinical indication for earlier escalation, that care was appropriate throughout, and that the outcome reflected natural disease progression in a medically frail 81-year-old rather than any deficiency in medical management.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- recurrent sigmoid volvulus
- aspiration pneumonia secondary to vomiting
- medical frailty in advanced age
- inability to coordinate vomiting to avoid aspiration
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