Health

Tampon ‘most likely’ source of infection that led to death of woman (36) in St Vincent’s hospital, inquest hears

Woman had been hospitalised after suffering a seizure at home owing to blood poisoning

Samantha Comiskey (36) died at St Vincent’s University Hospital on March 18th, 2023. Photograph: Dave Meehan

Fiachra Gallagher
Tue May 14 2024 - 06:00

A 36-year-old Dublin woman who died from blood poisoning most likely contracted the infection from a tampon, an inquest has heard.

Samantha Comiskey, a mother of six late of Maple Avenue, Ballybrack in south Dublin, died at St Vincent’s University Hospital on March 18th, 2023, after suffering a seizure at her home hours previously, later determined to be the result of septicaemia, or blood poisoning. Doctors at St Vincent’s determined that the most likely cause of septicaemia was a tampon, a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard on Monday morning.

Coroner Dr Clare Keane noted that an infection of toxic shock syndrome caused by a tampon being left in place for a period of time is a phenomenon that is “more rare than common ... but it does happen”.

Dr Keane recorded a narrative verdict into Ms Comiskey’s death at the close of the inquest. The court heard that Ms Comiskey had previously enjoyed good health, and had no significant medical history.

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Joey Burnett, Ms Comiskey’s partner, told Dr Keane how they were celebrating St Patrick’s Day the day before Ms Comiskey’s death. He said that Ms Comiskey showed no signs of illness as they attended a parade, drove to her mother’s house, and spent time in Stepaside, south Dublin, before returning home around 7.30pm.

By 10.30pm that evening, Ms Comiskey was complaining of feeling unwell and experiencing hot flushes, Mr Burnett told the coroner’s court. She went outside for some fresh air, but vomited a number of times that evening, he said.

Later that night, Mr Burnett awoke to Ms Comiskey suffering from a seizure, lasting about 10 minutes. He rang for an ambulance, and was guided by paramedics in performing CPR on his partner, he said.

Paramedics took over resuscitation efforts on arrival, administering shocks to her heart, and a number of medications, the court heard.

Ms Comiskey arrived at St Vincent’s emergency department around 1.45am, and was met by a team of doctors and nurses, the court heard.

A report prepared by Dr Carthage Carroll, a consultant in emergency medicine at St Vincent’s, noted that Ms Comiskey had suffered a cardiac arrest at her home, and at the hospital was not spontaneously breathing, with her pupils non-reactive. A blood gas test on Ms Comiskey showed a pH level of less than 7, indicating a “major problem”, Dr Keane noted.

Noting that this was an “unexpected event” in a young person, and that physicians had – at that point – no idea of the cause, a decision was made to administer anti-clotting medication, following concerns that Ms Comiskey’s condition was caused by blood clots.

When emergency department staff inserted a urinal catheter to drain Ms Comiskey’s bladder, they found a tampon, which may have been in place for a period of time, the court heard. Following this discovery, Dr Carroll noted that doctors suspected that it may have caused toxic shock syndrome in Ms Comiskey. It is recommend that tampons are changed every four to eight hours.

Subsequent testing of Ms Comiskey’s blood found evidence of bacteria present.

Ms Comiskey was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2.20am, when attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful.

A postmortem report also found evidence of a blockage in Ms Comiskey’s coronary artery. Clotting can be associated with sepsis, or systemic infections, Dr Keane noted.

Dr Keane expressed the sympathies of the court to the bereaved family, describing Ms Comiskey’s death as a “completely shocking” event.

She recorded septicaemia, or blood poisoning, as the cause of death, with the tampon that was found the “most likely reason” for the infection, noting the acute fashion in which she became ill.

Fiachra Gallagher

Fiachra Gallagher

Fiachra Gallagher is an Irish Times journalist

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