Coroner's Finding: Donnelly, Christopher Ronald
Deceased
Christopher Ronald Donnelly
Demographics
68y, male
Date of death
2020-02-25
Finding date
2022-11-30
Cause of death
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP)
AI-generated summary
Christopher Ronald Donnelly, aged 68, died of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). He had a 5-year history of seizures managed with antiepileptic medications, including a recent switch from valproate to levetiracetam (Keppra) in October 2019 due to inadequate seizure control. His seizures had improved on the new regimen with only 2 seizures in the 3 months prior to death. He also had vascular dementia, COPD, and depression. A family member raised concerns about prescribing Keppra given his mental health issues and dementia, but the coronial medical consultant confirmed the epilepsy management was of good standard, with Dr H. appropriately aware of potential psychiatric side-effects. The coroner found no preventable factors and no recommendations for change were warranted.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- chronic epilepsy with partial seizure control
- vascular dementia
- COPD
- depression
- recent medication transition from valproate to levetiracetam
- psychosocial stressors related to house move and living situation
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