Demographics
42y, male
Coroner
Coroner Rosemary Carlin
Date of death
2014-08-14
Finding date
2017-05-25
Cause of death
Hypoxic/ischaemic encephalopathy; cardiac arrest; cardiomegaly
AI-generated summary
A 42-year-old man with schizophrenia died from hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at a mental health community care unit. He had been admitted voluntarily for alcohol rehabilitation and was clinically stable with regular psychiatric and physical monitoring. He collapsed outside the unit 30 minutes after a telephone call to his mother reporting feeling unwell and very tired. CPR was initiated promptly by staff and continued by paramedics; he had brief return of spontaneous circulation but suffered another arrest at hospital. The coroner found his medical care reasonable and identified no preventable factors. The case highlights elevated sudden death risk in schizophrenia due to multiple modifiable factors including smoking, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity, and substance abuse, coupled with potential medication effects and social disadvantage.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
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