157 results
83y · Male·pneumonia and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by Legionella ba…
An 83-year-old man died from pneumonia and respiratory distress caused by Legionella bacterium. He presented with abdominal symptoms and was initially misdiagnosed as having aspiration pneumonia rather than community-acq…
49y · Male·ligature compression of the neck (hanging)
Barry Matt Stuart, a 49-year-old prisoner at Hakea Prison, died by suicide via ligature compression of the neck in November 2013. Critical clinical lessons include: (1) maintaining psychiatric continuity of care is essen…
87y · Female·Multiple opioid drug toxicity (morphine and fentanyl) in combination with conges…
An 87-year-old woman with multiple comorbidities (ischaemic heart disease, emphysema, chronic kidney disease) was discharged home for palliative care after a hospital admission. Her family administered excessive doses of…
21y · Male·combined effect of a cocktail of drugs causing central nervous system depression…
Paul Fennessy, a 21-year-old with polysubstance addiction and mental health issues, died from positional asphyxia following a drug overdose on 6 January 2010. He presented to the Emergency Department that afternoon after…
21y · Male·Combined effect of a cocktail of drugs causing central nervous system depression…
Paul Fennessy, a 21-year-old man with polysubstance addiction and mental health issues, died from central nervous system and respiratory depression due to a cocktail of drugs, complicated by positional asphyxia. Over thr…
31y · Female·Mixed drug toxicity
A 31-year-old woman with long-standing opioid dependence enrolled in the Queensland Opioid Treatment Program died from mixed drug toxicity, with toxic levels of Fentanyl and other drugs in her system. A general practitio…
51y · Male·Blunt head injury sustained in the circumstances of a seizure
John Jansen, a 51-year-old man with poorly controlled epilepsy and chronic alcoholism, died from blunt head injury sustained during a seizure in his home. He had not taken his anti-epileptic medication (Epilim) for four …
48y · Female·Combined drug toxicity involving oxycodone, benzodiazepines (diazepam, nordiazep…
A 48-year-old woman with epilepsy, depression, anxiety and documented drug dependence died from combined toxicity of oxycodone, benzodiazepines, amitriptyline and other drugs. Over 12 months pre-death, she obtained medic…
45y · Male·multi-drug toxicity from ingestion of methadone and amitriptyline
Terry Riordan, 45, died from multi-drug toxicity caused by ingesting amitriptyline and methadone in April 2015. He had complex medical and psychiatric comorbidities, substance abuse issues, and was under care of his GP D…
57y · Male·Mixed drug toxicity, predominantly propoxyphene (Doloxene)
A 57-year-old man died from mixed drug toxicity, predominantly propoxyphene (Doloxene), combined with benzodiazepines. His GP of 13 years prescribed Doloxene for 10 years despite documented alcohol abuse history, which w…
75y · Female·hypovolaemic shock following uncontrolled blood loss from mini-liposuction stem …
A 75-year-old woman with advanced frontal lobe dementia died from hypovolaemic shock following uncontrolled bleeding after an unproven stem-cell liposuction procedure. Critical failures included: failure to cease anticoa…
30y · Male·Mixed drug toxicity (methadone, amitriptyline, alprazolam, diazepam, oxazepam, n…
Benjamin Appelman, 30, died from mixed drug toxicity in a creek in December 2010. He had engaged in prescription shopping across multiple GPs and pharmacies to obtain benzodiazepines, obtaining 1050 alprazolam, 1540 diaz…
66y · Female·Cardiac failure due to atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease
A 66-year-old woman died from cardiac failure due to atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease. She presented to a rural GP with ankle oedema, cough, and palpitations during interstate travel. The GP diagnosed mild …
47y · Male·Bronchopneumonia on a background of methadone and benzodiazepine use
Frank Frood, a 47-year-old man with a 20-year history of heroin use and opioid replacement therapy (ORT) on methadone, died from bronchopneumonia with a background of methadone and benzodiazepine use. He suffered chronic…
84y · Male·Acute myocardial infarction precipitated by upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage f…
An 84-year-old man with multiple comorbidities was prescribed rivaroxaban for deep vein thrombosis despite being a practicing Jehovah's Witness who refused blood transfusions. Rivaroxaban cannot be monitored or reversed,…
78y · Male·Cerebral infarction and hypoxic brain damage due to the combined effects of isch…
Paul Henri, 78, died from cerebral infarction and hypoxic brain damage following aspiration pneumonia and opioid-related complications. He was admitted to an aged care home and commenced on MS Contin (morphine) 30mg dail…
45y · Female·Multi-drug toxicity
Christine Drinnan, aged 45, died from multi-drug toxicity involving lethal morphine levels combined with pethidine, quetiapine, benzodiazepines and alcohol. Over 12 years, her GP Dr H. prescribed dangerous quantities of …
39y · Male·combined drug toxicity
Phillip Buckley, 39, died from combined drug toxicity involving oxycontin, diazepam, alcohol and venlafaxine. He had been prescribed high-dose oxycontin (40-80mg daily) and diazepam by his GP Dr C. for 12 years without c…
32y · Male·Mixed drug toxicity (codeine, methadone, alprazolam, diazepam) in a man with cor…
James Dougan, 32-year-old man with longstanding polysubstance abuse, died from mixed drug toxicity (codeine, methadone, alprazolam, diazepam) complicated by severe coronary artery atherosclerosis. He engaged in prescript…
41y · Male·Myocardial infarction secondary to coronary atherosclerosis, resulting in sudden…
A 41-year-old man with multiple cardiac risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, obstructive sleep apnoea, family history) presented with chest pain and was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. Coronary an…
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