Coroner says death was ‘an act of God’

A MAN died during a simple operation after suffering an unexpected and sudden allergic reaction to an antibiotic, an inquest heard yesterday.

Cork’s city coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, described Timothy Murphy’s death as “completely unpredictable — an act of God”.

Mr Murphy, 51, from Gurteen in Kanturk, Co Cork, was admitted to Cork University Hospital for a planned procedure on February 19 to have a cyst removed from his thyroid.

Mr Murphy was wheeled into the operating theatre for what family understood would be a straightforward partial thyroidectomy.

He was given a general anaesthetic, and surgeons made a 7.5cm incision in his neck to remove the growth.

His wife Ann told the inquest her husband had no known drug allergies, and had taken a range of medication in the past with no adverse effects.

But within minutes of the intravenous administration of the antibiotic Augmentin — to help fight post-operative infections — Mr Murphy suffered an acute anaphylactic reaction and his blood pressure plummeted.

His lungs began to shut down and he went into immediate respiratory arrest.

Doctors thought his lungs had collapsed. They inserted two chest drains and battled frantically to revive him. But the reaction continued and caused a massive cardiac arrest.

Despite the presence of a skilled medical team who fought desperately to save him, Mr Murphy died on the operating table.

Assistant State pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a detailed post mortem.

A biochemical analysis of Mr Murphy’s blood revealed very high traces of a protein released during allergic reactions.

Dr Bolster said the normal range for this protein is less than 13 — in Mr Murphy’s case it was 57.4.

Her autopsy also revealed that two of the three coronary arteries pumping blood to his heart were 50% and 70% narrowed, respectively — a significant level of heart disease.

Dr Bolster said Mr Murphy died from acute anaphylactic reaction following the administration of Augmentin, complicated by coronary disease.

Dr Cullinane said his heart would have been unable to cope with the increased stress of the allergic reaction and she returned a verdict of misadventure.

She assured Mr Murphy’s family that because he was under general anaesthetic, he would not have suffered.

“This is just a dreadful thing for the family to deal with — the unexpectedness of it was so shocking. He didn’t suffer in any way. ”