Finding into death of Lynette Dawn Smith
Deceased
Lynette Dawn Smith
Demographics
64y, female
Date of death
2016-03-02
Finding date
2017-06-27
Cause of death
Complications of cachexia and aspiration pneumonia on a background of cerebral palsy
AI-generated summary
Lynette Dawn Smith, a 64-year-old woman with cerebral palsy, died from complications of cachexia and aspiration pneumonia. She was admitted to hospital with decreased oral intake and presumed aspiration pneumonia, initially refusing oral antibiotics. After trialling intravenous antibiotics, goals of care were changed to comfort and palliative care on 25 February 2016. She was transferred to palliative care at Wantirna Health where her condition deteriorated, with episodes of faecal vomiting before her death on 2 March 2016. Post-mortem examination revealed functional obstruction of the duodenum secondary to severe weight loss and cachexia. The coroner found care provision to be reasonable and appropriate, with no clinical errors or preventable factors identified. The death resulted from natural causes related to her underlying cerebral palsy and associated complications.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- severe cachexia and weight loss
- functional obstruction of duodenum
- aspiration risk
- cerebral palsy with associated functional impairment
- inability to clear secretions
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