Coronial
TAShospital

Coroner's Finding: Master T

Deceased

Master T

Demographics

3y, male

Date of death

2019-08-06

Finding date

2021-03-19

Cause of death

Hypoxic brain injury secondary to cardiorespiratory arrest, possibly secondary to sepsis; likely aspiration pneumonitis

AI-generated summary

Master T, aged 3 years, died from hypoxic brain injury secondary to cardiorespiratory arrest, likely due to aspiration pneumonitis. He had severe congenital abnormalities including holoprosencephaly with VP shunt, anal atresia, oesophageal atresia, and developmental delay. He was admitted to hospital on 3 August 2019 with a 2-3 day history of unwellness, vomiting, and feed refusal. After appropriate assessment including CT brain and blood tests, he was discharged. That night he aspirated while sleeping and suffered cardiorespiratory arrest. The coroner found the assessment and discharge decision appropriate, the hospital care attentive and competent, and his foster carer's management exemplary. No clinical errors or preventable factors were identified.

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

Specialties

paediatricsintensive careneurosurgerypathology

Drugs involved

paracetamol

Clinical conditions

holoprosencephalyanal atresiaoesophageal atresiatethered spinal cord with sacral agenesisventriculoperitoneal shuntrecurrent urinary tract infectionaspiration pneumonitiscardiorespiratory arresthypoxic brain injury

Procedures

VP shunt placementPEG feedingCT brain scancardiopulmonary resuscitation

Contributing factors

  • Aspiration during sleep
  • Complex medical needs with multiple congenital abnormalities
  • Holoprosencephaly with VP shunt requiring close monitoring
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. 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.