Deceased
Sharon Lee McDonald
Demographics
47y, female
Coroner
Coroner Peter White
Date of death
2011-10-09
Finding date
2012-12-05
Cause of death
Large intestinal infarction due to volvulus
AI-generated summary
Sharon Lee McDonald, a 47-year-old woman with Down syndrome, died from large intestinal infarction secondary to volvulus (twisting of bowel). She was admitted with presumed faecal loading causing bowel obstruction but developed sigmoid volvulus with haemorrhagic infarction. She had known megacolon requiring careful dietary management and regular laxatives. The coroner found no evidence of procedural injury from nasogastric intubation. The death resulted from a vascular catastrophe (complete bowel twist causing tissue death from lack of blood supply) in a patient with complex medical needs. Better recognition of volvulus risk in megacolon patients and potentially earlier imaging or surgical intervention might have prevented this outcome, though the acute nature of volvulus limits preventability.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Error types
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
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11y · Male·complications of bowel obstruction in the setting of chronic constipation
RDZ was an 11-year-old Aboriginal boy who died from complications of bowel obstruction secondary to chronic constipation with a fecalith. He had been under paediatric care for years with multiple admissions for bowel was…
2y · Unknown·Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy following sepsis related to abdominal surgical …
BCT was a 2-year-old Aboriginal child with complex needs from a genetic disorder (CAMTA1 mutation) who died from hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy following sepsis related to bowel perforation after a percutaneous endosco…
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