A MAN WITH severe learning disabilities died as a result of complications after swallowing disposable gloves, an inquest has heard.
Dublin Coroner’s Court heard Kevin Dillon (31) of Knockmore Park, Tallaght had been examined at two hospitals for constipation and pains in his stomach in the days before his sudden death on 15 August 2018 at the Stewarts Care residential care home in Palmerstown, Co Dublin where he had lived since the age of 13.
The deceased’s mother, Sonya Dillon, told the inquest that her son, who had autism, had a habit of eating non-food items on an intermittent basis since he was a child.
Ms Dillon said he could only utter one or two words at a time but she would know if he was in pain which is why she had asked for him to be brought to another hospital after he had been discharged from Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown on 12 August 2018.
She told the inquest that she was devastated by her son’s death.
“I can’t get the image of him dead on his bed out of my mind,” Ms Dillon said.
The inquest heard that Dillon had been unwell from vomiting and constipation for several days before his death as well as suffering weight loss.
A staff nurse at Stewarts Care, Olu Ogunleye, said she was concerned about his condition on the day of his death as he could not keep food or liquid down, while he also was suffering from epilepsy, high cholesterol and constipation.
As he was trying to eat an evening meal, she recalled that he started to have a seizure before collapsing and dying, despite attempts to resuscitate him.
Ogunleye said he had been prescribed a laxative in June 2018 after a hospital scan identified some foreign objects in his intestine.
However, the nurse said she had not seen him trying to eat any non-food items in the weeks before his death.
Dr Basim Dhia Mohammed, a specialist in general medicine who examined Dillon after he was admitted to Connolly Hospital on 11 August 2018, said the patient’s vital signs were stable but he had been kept in overnight for observation.
As Dillon was not in distress and had no acute abdominal pain on the following day, Dr Mohammed said he was satisfied to discharge the patient.
Under questioning by relatives of Dillon who claimed it was obvious that Kevin was in pain when admitted to the hospital, Dr Mohammed agreed that he had looked uncomfortable but said he had been reassured by his clinical team about the patient’s health.
“He had something to eat and didn’t vomit,” he added.
Dr Mohammed said the gloves that were in Dillon’s body might not have shown up on a scan if one had been carried out.
Dr Elaine McDwyer, a specialist in emergency medicine in St James’ Hospital, who examined Dillon on 13 August 2018 after medical staff at Stewarts Care and his mother decided they would like a second medical opinion, said there was no evidence of him having abdominal pain.
Dr McDwyer said she did not believe a scan was clinically indicated by his condition on the day.
The coroner, Dr Crona Gallagher, said the case warranted a narrative verdict to reflect the complexity of how Dillon had died.
Dr Gallagher said his death was due to extreme peritonitis (swelling of the abdomen) due to a perforation of his bowel that was linked to foreign bodies and a build-up of faecal material in his colon.
The coroner said the onset of the condition which killed him was likely to have been rapid, while someone like Dillon was “uniquely vulnerable”.
However, Dr Gallagher said she was convinced that doctors had carefully evaluated his condition and there had been “no warning signs” during several examinations in hospital.
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