Bacteria a factor in Louisburgh woman’s death

Bacteria a factor in Louisburgh woman’s death


A narrative verdict has been recorded at the inquest of a Louisburgh woman who died in the intensive care unit at Mayo General Hospital.
The inquest into her death, which was held yesterday (Monday), found that Irene Collins of Old Oaks, Old Head, Louisburgh, died as a result of pseudomembranous colitis caused by the Clostridium difficile (also known as C. difficile, or C. diff), a species of gram-positive spore-forming bacteria.
The inquest heard that Ms Collins, who was 61 when she died, was admitted to Mayo General Hospital on April 3, 2013, and collapsed after having a cardiac arrest in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital on May 2, 2013.
In a letter, Mr Kevin Collins, the husband of Ms Collins, said he and his family wanted to know what happened in the hours before his wife collapsed and was put on a life-support machine before passing away.
Mr Collins said he had been with his wife most of the afternoon on May 4 and his two daughters both visited his wife later that evening.
After 12 noon the following day Mr Collins was contacted by a nurse to say Ms Collins had collapsed, but she did not state what time it happened. Mr Collins was told that his wife was transferred to ICU at 4am after a nurse noticed Ms Collins’s face looking strange and feared she was having a stroke.
Clinical Nurse Manager Ann Egan said Ms Collins was brought to ICU at 5am on May 2 for the insertion of a central line. She said that Ms Collins was alert and orientated on admission but that her condition deteriorated before 8am and she became confused and agitated. Cardiac arrest occurred at 12.10pm and Ms Collins passed away on May 5, 2013.
Consultant Pathologist at Mayo General Hospital Dr Fadel Bennani said Ms Collins’s heart showed infarction along with other factors like shrunken kidneys. He concluded that the cause of death was septicemia due to C. diff.
Coroner for Mayo South Mr John O’Dwyer said the inquest had given Collins family some answers and said it appeared that Ms Collins was a sick woman with a lot of health problems, which culminated in her death.