Coronial
SAhospital

Coroner's Finding: SOLTYS Marie Joyce

Deceased

Marie Joyce Soltys

Demographics

78y, female

Date of death

2018-09-13

Finding date

2020-07-16

Cause of death

aspiration pneumonia complicating electroconvulsive therapy on a background of end-stage Lewy Body dementia and cerebrovascular disease

AI-generated summary

Marie Joyce Soltys, aged 78, died from aspiration pneumonia following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment-resistant psychotic symptoms in the context of end-stage Lewy Body dementia and cerebrovascular disease. She was admitted under a Mental Health Act inpatient treatment order after developing delusions and refusing oral medication. Following her second ECT on 10 September 2018, she became profoundly confused and non-responsive, was transitioned to palliative care, and died three days later. The coroner found her care and treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital appropriate, with no recommendations for improvement. The case highlights risks of ECT in advanced dementia with dysphagia, though the coroner made no adverse findings regarding clinical decision-making.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Contributing factors

  • electroconvulsive therapy in patient with advanced dementia
  • end-stage Lewy Body dementia
  • cerebrovascular disease
  • treatment-resistant psychotic symptoms
  • inability to take oral medication
  • cognitive decline following second ECT
Full text

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. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. 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 —