Coronial
WAhospital

Inquest into the Death of David WAYMOUTH

Deceased

David WAYMOUTH

Demographics

47y, male

Date of death

2014-11-20

Finding date

2016-10-24

Cause of death

Multi organ failure and sepsis complicating ulcerating colitis and intestinal obstruction in a man with severe constipation, methadone use and recent repair of a right hip fracture

AI-generated summary

David Waymouth, a 47-year-old prisoner with extensive medical comorbidities including hepatitis C, obesity, chronic pain requiring methadone, and depression, fell from his bed in prison and sustained a right hip fracture. He underwent successful total hip replacement but developed post-operative complications including pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, bowel obstruction, and severe constipation. He was readmitted to hospital eight hours after discharge following a second fall at the toilet. Despite multidisciplinary team care including ICU management and emergency colectomy, he developed peritoneal sepsis and multi-organ failure. The coroner found no deficiency in medical care provided during imprisonment or hospitalization. Post-operative complications in a patient with significant risk factors (obesity, liver disease) were the primary drivers of mortality.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Specialties

orthopaedic surgerygeneral surgeryintensive carepsychiatryinfectious diseasesgastroenterology

Drugs involved

methadoneamitriptylinepregabalinnaproxenaripiprazoleolanzapinecitalopram

Clinical conditions

hepatitis Culcerating colitisintestinal obstructionsepsispulmonary embolismhospital-acquired pneumoniahip fracturehip dislocationbowel perforationmulti-organ failuredepressionchronic painlumbar disc prolapsesciaticaobesity

Procedures

total hip replacementclosed reduction of dislocated hiptotal colectomyloop ileostomyCT guided spine injections

Contributing factors

  • post-operative pulmonary embolism
  • hospital-acquired pneumonia
  • bowel obstruction
  • severe constipation
  • peritoneal sepsis secondary to perforated bowel
  • obesity
  • advanced liver disease secondary to hepatitis C
  • hip dislocation post-operatively
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