Complications of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in a man with multiple comorbidities with terminal palliative care
AI-generated summary
Robert Exell, a 55-year-old Aboriginal man, died from complications of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma while in custody. He had chronic hepatitis C and alcohol-related liver disease since at least 2012. Key clinical gaps included a 12-month delay in his initial medical review after re-admission to prison in June 2019, and delayed investigation of his liver disease until late 2020. Although earlier detection might have enabled sooner hepatitis C treatment, the coroner found it would likely only have delayed rather than prevented death, given advanced cirrhosis and subsequent hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis. Once terminal status was recognised, Mr Exell received appropriate palliative care. The coroner noted improvements have since been made to prison medical continuity and nurse triage processes.
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Specialties
hepatologygastroenterologyoncologypalliative carecorrectional healthemergency medicine
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