Coroner's Finding: PLAYFORD Aldona Mariana
Deceased
Aldona Mariana Playford
Demographics
84y, female
Date of death
2016-08-08
Finding date
2020-01-10
Cause of death
sepsis and cardiac failure in a woman with hypertensive ischaemic and valvular heart disease, chronic renal failure and bilateral cellulitis of the legs
AI-generated summary
Aldona Mariana Playford, an 84-year-old woman with extensive medical comorbidities including ischaemic heart disease, chronic renal failure, and severe biventricular dysfunction, died of sepsis and cardiac failure. She was admitted to hospital in June 2016 with decompensated cardiac failure and developed paranoid psychosis requiring an Inpatient Treatment Order. The psychosis initially impaired her cooperation with essential medical care, particularly diuretic therapy for severe oedema. On 7 August 2016, she developed septic shock with bilateral cellulitis of the legs and was transferred to ICU. Despite intravenous antibiotics, she deteriorated. The coroner found she received appropriate medical care throughout and died of natural causes. No clinical errors or preventable factors were identified. The case highlights challenges managing acute psychiatric decompensation in elderly patients with severe comorbidities and the importance of mental health assessment in medically complex hospitalisations.
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Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- bilateral cellulitis of the legs
- septic shock
- severe biventricular dysfunction
- chronic renal failure
- paranoid psychosis affecting cooperation with medical care
- decompensated cardiac failure
Full text
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