Finding into death of Maria Presti
Deceased
Maria Presti
Demographics
62y, female
Date of death
2023-08-21
Finding date
2024-10-11
Cause of death
Aspiration pneumonia secondary to cerebral palsy
AI-generated summary
Maria Presti, 62-year-old non-verbal woman with cerebral palsy and dysphagia living in specialist disability accommodation, died from aspiration pneumonia with acute kidney injury and severe hypernatremia. She was admitted to Werribee Mercy Hospital with pneumonia, initially improved with antibiotics and IV fluids, then deteriorated following an acute aspiration event. A multidisciplinary team transitioned her to comfort care on day 4, which the family initially contested but clinicians continued antibiotics at their request. The coroner's prevention unit and coroner found the care appropriate and reasonable. Clinical lessons include: careful swallowing assessment in cerebral palsy patients; early recognition of aspiration risk; multidisciplinary decision-making about goals of care; and management of family expectations when prognosis is poor. The outcome could not have been avoided given her underlying progressive decline.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- dysphagia
- cerebral palsy
- inability to swallow safely
- hypernatremia
- acute kidney impairment
- prior aspiration pneumonia episode in July 2023
- progressive functional decline
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