A CONSULTANT physician yesterday told an inquest that the anti-clotting effects of warfarin on the blood of a woman who died after developing a massive bleed in the wall of her abdomen should have been monitored on a daily basis.
Kathleen Lohan (66), Tonamaddy, Creggs, Co Roscommon, died at Beaumont Hospital on November 12th, 2006, hours after her arrival, Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard.
Mrs Lohan, whose husband died the day after her death, was admitted to Roscommon County Hospital on November 1st, with exacerbation of emphysema and pneumonia, and she was treated with intravenous antibiotics, hydrocortisone, nebulisers and inhalers to stabilise her condition. She showed no major improvement over the next few days and her antibiotics were changed.
On November 7th, Mrs Lohan was found to have a bleed into her abdominal wall and her INR, which measures the effect of anti-coagulants, was found to be 5.1 – not necessarily excessive.
Consultant physician at Roscommon County Hospital Dr P McHugh agreed with solicitor for the Lohan family, Bríd Miller, that given her previous medical history, it would have been best practice to monitor Mrs Lohan’s INR on a daily basis.
Mrs Lohan was extremely unwell when she was transferred to Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway on November 10th. She died hours after arriving in the renal unit at Beaumont Hospital on November 12th.