Finding into death of Dorothy Boag
Deceased
Dorothy Boag
Demographics
91y, female
Date of death
2025-01-05
Finding date
2026-08-20
Cause of death
Aspiration pneumonia in a woman with multiple co-morbidities
AI-generated summary
91-year-old woman with disability living in specialist disability accommodation who died from aspiration pneumonia. She had documented moderate oropharyngeal dysphagia from prior stroke, managed with pureed diet and thick fluids per speech pathology assessment in May 2024. Over the preceding six months, she experienced progressive decline in swallowing and speech. On 29 December 2024, she developed respiratory symptoms and productive cough; imaging and clinical assessment confirmed aspiration pneumonia. Despite appropriate intravenous antibiotics and speech pathology review in hospital, she continued to deteriorate. After discussion with family, care transitioned to comfort measures and she died peacefully on 5 January 2025. The coroner found natural causes. The case illustrates the natural history of aspiration risk in elderly people with stroke and dysphagia, and appropriate end-of-life care planning in vulnerable populations.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- stroke/cerebrovascular accident
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- congestive cardiac failure
- moderate intellectual disability
- hydrocephalus
- schizophrenia
- progressive oropharyngeal dysphagia
- declining ability to manage secretions
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