But a coroner attributed his death to “natural causes” as the medication had been necessary to treat another condition and no hospital staff had done anything wrong.
Senior coroner Graeme Irvine made the determination at East London Coroner’s Court on Wednesday (April 9), during an inquest into the death of Sterling Vann.
Mr Vann, 71, of Arbor Way, Elm Park, died on January 16 after being given clexane – also known as low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) – to tackle a blood clot on his lung.
“I don’t think any mistake occurred in Mr Vann’s treatment,” said Mr Irvine.
“The use of clexane, a powerful drug, carries with it the possibility of side effects… it was simply a recognised complication which added to the problems Mr Vann was having at that time, which were multiple.”
The court heard Mr Vann – already being treated for Alzheimer’s dementia and type 2 diabetes – fell ill on January 8, becoming so short of breath he could not finish his sentences.
The former financial advisor was described by his wife Elaine as “a committed family man and very outgoing”, having volunteered as one of mayor Sadiq Khan’s Team London ambassadors, offering advice to tourists.
He was taken by ambulance to Queen’s Hospital A&E, where a CT scan found he had a pulmonary embolism – meaning a blood clot – on his left lung.
The court heard that after clot-busting drugs were administered, it became clear Mr Vann was now bleeding internally.
Blood-thinning injections were ceased but the bleeding continued and he died a week after his admission.
The hospital trust’s medical examiner referred the death to the coroner as they could find no underlying medical reason for Mr Vann’s gastrointestinal bleed.
“It seems to me that it is likely that the gastrointestinal bleed was probably caused by treatment of the pulmonary embolism,” agreed Mr Irvine.
But he said administration of clexane had been the clinical best practice for a patient with a pulmonary embolism like Mr Vann’s and there was “no indication Mr Vann would have a sensitivity to that drug”.
But he added: “To be clear, Mrs Vann, I don’t think the inquest process has been a waste of time. I think it’s proper that incidents such as this are looked at closely so that things don’t get missed.”
