Wrong drug killed son: dad
The father of a man who died in Fiona Stanley Hospital believes a drug that should never have been prescribed to him caused the death.
In less than a month, 41-year-old Jared Olsen went from having irritable bowel syndrome and suspected Crohn's disease to being in a coma and on life support.
Mr Olsen's immune system shut down, which may have been the result of taking mercaptopurine, a potent drug used for treating acute leukaemia.
It was prescribed after he was admitted to FSH on February 4 with extreme stomach pains and was discharged a week later.
But Phillip Olsen claims his son - a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art - should never have been given the drug without a blood test to determine if his body could cope.
He has discovered that about one in 300 people do not have a vital enzyme called TPMT, which is needed to prevent the potentially life-threatening side effects of the drug.
"Without that TPMT the drug goes out of control and can destroy your immune system," Mr Olsen said. "We have spoken to a gastroenterologist and he says he's never told a patient to take it until he has established the presence or otherwise of TPMT."
Medical guidelines back that up and warn about the possible consequences.
"Those who are severely deficient (in TPMT) are likely to experience serious side effects such as suppression of the bone marrow," a medical laboratory testing website said.
"When suppressed, it is unable to produce sufficient numbers of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. These complications may be life-threatening."
Mr Olsen will meet senior hospital staff next week and his lawyer John Hammond wants a coronial inquest into the March 5 death.
"So much is unknown and we can't put it to one side," Mr Olsen said.
On Saturday, The Weekend West _revealed damning emails warning of deaths because of delays in treating cancer patients at FSH.
