MRSA killed man, 76, after operation (From Witney Gazette)

MRSA killed man, 76, after operation

9:00am Wednesday 25th October 2006 in Witney By Matt Wilkinson

A PENSIONER who survived a major heart operation died three weeks later after being struck down with a killer hospital superbug, described as the most virulent seen in two decades.

Philip Hepden, 76, of Wychwood Drive, Milton-under-Wychwood, went to the Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital in June last year for a coronary heart bypass operation and a replacement heart valve.

Only 22 days after successful surgery, he had died from an ultra-resistant strain of superbug MRSA, an inquest into his death held at Oxford Coroner's Court heard last week.wed The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust said deaths from MRSA were rare, but estimates only one heart patient dies per year from the bug.

Professor Stephen Westaby, consultant cardiac surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, said: "He was doing fine and came off the breathing machine, and went down to the ward. At that stage, everybody felt this was an entirely routine post-operative course.

"The trigger was the bug, which came from somewhere, and I don't think we will ever know for sure where it came from.

"Every time we got him particularly better, but the organism eventually won.

"It is an extremely rare problem. It is the only time in 20 years at the hospital I have seen an organism as virulent as that which we couldn't overcome."

Professor Westaby added if there was an outbreak of MRSA at the cardiac recovery unit (CRU), more deaths would have been reported.

Latest figures show MRSA rates at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust rose between September 2005 and March 2006, compared to previous periods.

Notes by Dr Quentin Ainsworth, read to the inquest, revealed tests had found MRSA in Mr Hepden's blood five days after the operation.

Doctors prescribed antibiotics to treat the superbug, but by June 30, the situation was described as 'hopeless'.

Delivering a narrative verdict, Coroner Nicholas Gardiner said Mr Hepden had died on July 1 from multiple organ failure, following heart surgery that had led to MRSA, which had been resistant to all antibiotics.

Dr Derrick Cook, consultant microbiologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital, said: "Around day 18, there was a growing realisation the antibiotics used probably weren't doing enough. When you reach that stage, any other antibiotics are unlikely to make a difference."

Drugs used to tackle the superbug worked in more than 90 per cent of patients, Dr Cook added.

Forensic pathologist Dr Nicholas Hunt told the inquest that traces of the MRSA had been discovered at an incision on Mr Hepden's chest.

After the inquest, his widow, Phyllis Hepden, said: "There are things we never knew about his death until now, but this has closed it for us. The nurses all looked after him so much, and we are pleased with how they looked after him."

A spokesman for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We send our condolences to the family of Mr Hepden.

"Mr Hepden developed an infection, which resisted all attempts to treat it, despite the best efforts of our clinicians, who acted according to best practice.

"Death by infection in the manner that caused Mr Hepden's death is extremely rare."