Deceased
Sheldon Douglas Currie
Demographics
18y, male
Coroner
Barnes
Date of death
2010-02-20
Finding date
2011-11-03
Cause of death
Hypoglycaemic hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, due to massive liver necrosis, due to Hepatitis B and C infection
AI-generated summary
An 18-year-old remand prisoner died from acute liver failure secondary to Hepatitis B and C infection. He presented with fever and malaise on 15 February but was assessed only for boils and not thoroughly evaluated. Clinical staff did not obtain collateral information from correctional officers about the severity or duration of symptoms. He was found in a hypoglycaemic coma the next morning and transferred to hospital where he died four days later from massive hepatic necrosis. Key clinical lessons: the diagnosis of acute viral hepatitis can present atypically and rapidly progress; confirmation bias (focusing on obvious diagnosis of boils) prevented broader assessment; communication gaps between custodial and medical staff compromised clinical information; earlier transfer to hospital for diagnostic evaluation was delayed, though unlikely to have altered outcome. Systemic failures included failure to order liver function tests when hepatitis diagnosed, lack of structured assessment protocols for antiviral treatment eligibility, and inadequate medical record-keeping.
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
35y · Female·Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy due to cardiorespiratory arrest due to vertebro…
A 35-year-old woman presented to a rural hospital with a three-day history of collapses, slurred speech, vomiting, and abnormal eye movements. A non-contrast CT head scan was normal, and she was discharged with a diagnos…
29y · Male·Ketoacidosis as a consequence of diabetes mellitus (Type 1)
Steven Thelander, aged 29, died from ketoacidosis due to poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes while in residential disability support care at Multicap. He had cerebral palsy with severe intellectual impairment and epilepsy …
39y · Female·Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy due to cardiorespiratory arrest due to methadon…
A 39-year-old woman with opioid dependency died from methadone toxicity following cardiac arrest. She had been prescribed up to six take-away doses of 120mg methadone per week by her GP under Queensland's Opioid Treatmen…
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.