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Coroner's Finding: Brown, Paul Louis

Deceased

Paul Louis Brown

Demographics

64y, male

Date of death

2024-02-04

Finding date

2024-12-17

Cause of death

Subdural haematoma with mass effect following thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction

AI-generated summary

A 64-year-old man with complex medical history including diabetes, mental illness, chronic alcohol misuse, and previous traumatic brain injury was admitted with diabetic ketoacidosis and acute kidney injury. He developed acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) and received thrombolysis after appropriate pre-treatment CT brain imaging showed no acute haemorrhage. He subsequently developed a catastrophic left-sided subdural haematoma causing his death. While the RCA report identified protocol non-adherence and failure to recognize previous intracranial haemorrhage as an absolute contraindication, independent expert review concluded the treatment was appropriate given the age of the previous injury (over three months prior), negative CT findings, clinical urgency, and treatment efficacy. The coroner found the death resulted from a known risk of thrombolysis rather than inappropriate management.

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

Contributing factors

  • diabetic ketoacidosis
  • chronic kidney disease
  • alcohol misuse
  • previous traumatic brain injury with intracranial haemorrhage
  • thrombolysis administration

Coroner's recommendations

  1. The Thrombolysis for STEMI Clinical Pathway may be appropriate for review to ensure alignment with literature
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