Finding into death of Glenn Thomas King

55y · Male·Community acquired pneumonia in a man with Down Syndrome

Glenn Thomas King, a 55-year-old man with Down syndrome, intellectual disability, asthma, bronchiectasis and recurrent chest infections, died from community-acquired pneumonia. He was treated by his general practitioner on 29 March 2018 for a lower respiratory tract infection with cephalexin, reviewed on 3 April 2018 when antibiotics were changed, and a chest x-ray on 4 April 2018 showed extensive pneumonia. He was admitted to Austin Hospital but deteriorated and died on 6 April 2018. The coroner found the care provided by DHHS and Austin Hospital was reasonable and appropriate. No preventable errors were identified. This case highlights the vulnerability of individuals with chronic respiratory conditions and intellectual disability to severe infections.