Deceased
James William Wallace
Demographics
39y, male
Date of death
2008-02-23
Finding date
2010-10-28
Cause of death
rhabdomyolysis complicating cocaine toxicity against a background of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease
AI-generated summary
A 39-year-old man with undiagnosed atherosclerotic coronary artery disease died from rhabdomyolysis complicating cocaine toxicity. He exhibited cocaine-induced excited delirium with erratic dangerous driving and bizarre behaviour. Police and paramedics restrained him for transport to hospital. A paramedic administered 2mg IV midazolam to facilitate transfer. Within 20 seconds, he became unresponsive and shortly after suffered cardiorespiratory arrest requiring resuscitation. He sustained severe hypoxic brain injury and died 2 days later. The coroner found the restraint and sedation were appropriate and lawfully justified. However, the manner of midazolam administration was criticised - it was given as a continuous 'slow push' without pausing to observe patient response, rather than in smaller increments as recommended. The recommendation focuses on ensuring paramedics administer sedatives incrementally with clinical observation.
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
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