Deceased
Liana Pickup
Demographics
32y, female
Date of death
2018-02-14
Finding date
2019-10-10
Cause of death
Mixed drug toxicity (methadone, oxycodone, desmethylvenlafaxine, quetiapine, olanzapine and benzodiazepines)
AI-generated summary
Liana Pickup, a 32-year-old woman with complex mental illness (bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, schizoaffective disorder), chronic back pain, and substance dependence, died from mixed drug toxicity after commencing methadone maintenance therapy. She received her first 20mg methadone dose at 4:55pm on 13 February 2018 and her second dose at 11am the following morning—only 18 hours later. She reported feeling 'woozy' after the second dose, went to bed complaining of abdominal pain, and was found unresponsive shortly after. Clinical lessons include: methadone commencement is a high-risk period requiring daily clinical review during the first week; the respiratory depressant effects of methadone can persist 48 hours; concurrent CNS depressants significantly increase toxicity risk; and partner/family overdose awareness training and naloxone availability could potentially prevent deaths. The coroner noted confounding factors including Liana's history of stockpiling medications, unsanctioned drug use, and methamphetamine use, making it impossible to definitively attribute her death solely to methadone prescribing practices.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Drugs involved
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