A coroner has warned about the implications of overprescribing a drug after an inquest into the death of an elderly woman found that the medication could have contributed to her death.
The jury found that Margaret O'Connor (83), Glennoe, Murroe, Co Limerick, died at Nenagh General Hospital on October 10th, 2005, due to cardio-respiratory failure, secondary to a brain haemorrhage, which could have been the result of Warfarin treatment and cerebral atrophy.
Coroner Dr Louis Courtney said Ms O'Connor was admitted to hospital an hour before she died suffering from a cardio-pulmonary arrest and having difficulty with swallowing. A blood sample taken indicated an elevated level of Warfarin.
He said Warfarin was a powerful drug used to thin the blood and it had to be carefully monitored. "She had a brain haemorrhage and because she had a haemorrhage in association with Warfarin, I think we should show interest," Dr Courtney said.
"There is a wide range of ideas as to the quantity [ of Warfarin] one should take and I would be on the conservative side."
He stressed that it did not mean there was negligence in Ms O'Connor's death, but he warned that difficulties in stemming bleeding could be encountered in cases where patients were on the drug.
Dr Courtney said it was impossible to say if Ms O'Connor would not have had a brain haemorrhage if she were not on the drug.