AN ELDERLY woman died as a result of medical misadventure during a routine procedure to drain fluid from her lungs, an inquest heard yesterday.
Eileen Murray, of Wilton Gardens in Cork city, died of haemorrhaging and shock after a doctor attempted to drain fluid from the wrong lung.
Cork City Coroner’s court heard Ms Murray (92) had fluid on the right lung, which was to be drained to ease her breathing and to take samples for diagnosis.
The procedure was performed on the left lung, resulting in the woman’s death after blood vessels in the lung were punctured leading to a massive haemorrhage.
Dr Mortimer O’Connor, registrar at the South Infirmary hospital in Cork, said it was “particularly busy” the day the procedure was performed, January 25th last.
Ms Murray had been admitted two days before suffering shortness of breath and a chesty cough.
Giving evidence, Dr O’Connor said all patients admitted that weekend had to be attended to, and that it was about 5pm before the drainage was possible. “As the hospital is a teaching hospital, the senior house officer [SHO – junior to the registrar] was offered the opportunity to carry out the procedure,” Dr O’Connor said.
Dr O’Connor said the SHO was fully competent and had previously carried out the procedure.
The SHO clinically assessed the patient and carried out the procedure to the left lung, but no fluid was forthcoming. The drain was repositioned and a slight suction was administered, but still no fluid was found.
Dr O’Connor said at this point he realised the wrong lung had been tapped, and he ordered an immediate chest X-ray.
In a postmortem examination, Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said a large amount of bleeding had developed around puncture wounds to the lung.
However, the autopsy also revealed Ms Murray had advanced ovarian cancer, of which she was likely to die “in the near future” according to Dr Bolster.
Solicitor for the hospital, Fergal Dennehy, confirmed the matter was “formally under review”.