A MAN died in a Dublin hospital after his bowel was perforated during the insertion of a catheter, an inquest has heard.
Eugene Kiernan (84) of Aughaga, Moyne, Co Longford died at Tallaght Hospital on June 11th, 2010 more than two weeks after a doctor at the hospital inserted a suprapubic catheter for urinary retention.
Mr Kiernan had routine surgery for an enlarged prostate gland at Tallaght Hospital on May 21st, 2010, which was uneventful.
Mr Kiernan, who was described as “active” and who was still farming when assessed in February, remained comfortable until May 27th when he had some abdominal discomfort. A scan revealed residual urine in Mr Kiernan’s bladder and a suprapubic catheter was inserted under local anaesthetic on the ward without difficulty. Mr Kiernan became unresponsive on May 28th and was admitted to intensive care. Doctors suspected a bowel perforation due to suprapubic catheter insertion the following day, but Mr Kieran was not considered fit for surgery.
His condition improved and he was transferred back to the ward on June 2nd. He died nine days later.
A postmortem found Mr Kiernan had acute peritonitis or inflammation of a membrane, which lines the abdominal cavity.
Dublin County Coroner’s Court heard Mr Kieran’s bowel was perforated during the insertion of the suprapubic catheter and that bowel contents leaked out into the abdominal cavity causing infection and death. The perforation, which was not large, was not identified at postmortem.
Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty recorded a cause of death of shock due to peritonitis due to bowel perforation at suprapubic catheter insertion. Pneumonia was a contributory cause. “All the evidence points to this being an accidental occurrence due to a hospital procedure,” said the coroner who recorded a verdict of death by medical misadventure.
Two of Mr Kiernan’s sons, Patrick and Frank attended the inquest.