Inquest into the death of Hugo Alexander McGregor
Deceased
Hugo Alexander McGregor
Demographics
<1y, male
Date of death
2023-03-16
Finding date
2026-09-23
Cause of death
Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy caused by sudden and profound fetal bradycardia
AI-generated summary
Hugo Alexander McGregor was born on 11 March 2023 following emergency caesarean section at Mackay Base Hospital after sudden fetal bradycardia during labour. His mother's labour was induced with Syntocinon at 15:00 hours after slow progress due to occipito-posterior fetal position and first pregnancy. At 16:01 hours, sudden profound bradycardia developed. An emergency caesarean section was performed and Hugo was born in poor condition requiring resuscitation. He had severe hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and was transferred to Townsville University Hospital where he died on 16 March 2023. The coroner found that the Syntocinon induction was appropriate, the caesarean section timing was reasonable given the sudden unexpected bradycardia, and all clinical care met appropriate standards. The bradycardia could not have been foreseen from the cardiotocography. There were no missed opportunities for intervention, and the death was not preventable in the circumstances as they presented to the clinicians.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Slow progress of labour in occipito-posterior fetal position (first pregnancy)
- Need for labour augmentation with Syntocinon
- Sudden onset fetal bradycardia at 16:01 hours
- Metabolic acidosis developing during labour
- Underlying placental insufficiency (chronic villitis and acute chorionitis)
- Impaired placental function reducing oxygen transfer
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