Deceased
HD
Demographics
11y, female
Coroner
Deputy State Coroner Paresa Spanos
Date of death
2023-08-28
Finding date
2025-03-12
Cause of death
Pneumonia complicating cerebral palsy secondary to KCNQ2 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy
AI-generated summary
HD was an 11-year-old girl with severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and multiple complex medical conditions including central respiratory depression and recurrent chest infections. She died from pneumonia at home in August 2023 after a 12-month period of global neurological decline. Her care was exemplary throughout her life—she was fostered by highly trained and loving carers, received appropriate palliative care planning, and was transitioned to comfort-focused end-of-life care in July 2023 following ICU review. The coroner found no clinical management failures or deficiencies in care by any treating professional. This case illustrates appropriate end-of-life planning, good coordination between child protection services and medical teams, and compassionate palliative care management in a young person with severe, progressive neurological disease.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Clinical conditions
Procedures
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MJU (39) and her daughter KJH (6) were killed by MJU's husband CTH in a family violence homicide on 13-14 January 2022. CTH, who was using methylamphetamine and experiencing drug-induced psychosis with visual hallucinati…
2y · Male·Complications of malnutrition
GFD, a 2-year-old boy, died from complications of malnutrition and dehydration on 3 July 2021. Post-mortem examination revealed severe undernutrition, chronic malnutrition, and significant dehydration with hypernatraemia…
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