A pregnant woman who died from swine flu suffered tears to her heart as doctors changed her ECMO life-support system, an inquest heard. The Mater hospital has recently changed the method of ECMO cannula replacement to reduce the risk of injury, the court heard.
Sandrine Mallea (36), a mother of two from Mauritius living in Shankill, Co Dublin, died at the Mater hospital on February 26th, 2011, following complications arising from the virus.
Her partner Mukesh Kumar told Dublin Coroner's Court that her illness started with a small cough. On January 13th, he took her to see their GP where they discovered she was pregnant.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said that swine flu is known to develop quickly.
The pathologist gave the cause of death as liver and multiorgan failure due to swine flu. Dr Farrell added the perforation of her heart during the replacement of the cannula to increase blood flow as a co-morbidity.
The coroner returned a narrative verdict outlining the facts.