Deceased
Shirley Blanche Greet
Demographics
87y, female
Date of death
2014-10-13
Finding date
2016-09-12
Cause of death
digoxin toxicity with hyperkalaemia
AI-generated summary
An 87-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation, chronic pain, and renal failure intentionally overdosed on approximately 79 digoxin tablets. She called the ambulance and disclosed the overdose. Despite receiving activated charcoal and appropriate ICU care with 26 vials of DigiFab antidote, she suffered cardiac arrest and died from digoxin toxicity with hyperkalaemia. The coroner found that hospital staff took all possible steps to prevent her death. This case illustrates the challenges of managing intentional drug overdose in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities, where rapid drug absorption and severe electrolyte disturbances can lead to fatal arrhythmias despite appropriate antidotal therapy.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
85y · Male·Sepsis due to Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia due to septic arthritis of left …
An 85-year-old man died in custody from sepsis due to Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia arising from septic arthritis of the left shoulder, on a background of congestive heart failure. While receiving generally adequate …
Male·Hemant Chadha: acute on chronic pneumonia (mycoplasma pneumoniae). Sachintha Bat…
Two young men died after repeated ED presentations were not appropriately managed. Hemant Chadha (38) died of acute pneumonia complicated by possible neurological involvement after being discharged from Lyell McEwin Hosp…
69y · Male·disseminated urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (palliated), bilateral lung ade…
A 69-year-old man died in prison custody from disseminated urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, bilateral lung adenocarcinoma, and severe emphysema. He had a significant smoking history and prior asbestos exposure. His l…
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.