Teen, 17, found dead in bed 24 hours after being sent home by doctor who said he had bad constipation

A teenage boy died just 24 hours after being sent home from hospital with laxatives to treat constipation.

Jack Dunn, 17, was fit and healthy, but had gone to see his GP with severe stomach pains and was told to go to A&E for suspected appendicitis.

But, despite being in excruciating pain, doctors suspected he was suffering constipation after a scan and sent him home.

The tragic youngster was later found dead in bed by his dad the next day.

The teenager died from a deadly condition called ketoacidosis – a condition which causes a build up of acidity in the blood.


Dad Kieron Dunn said: “My son was a healthy fit 17-year-old who was full of energy and life.
“We took him to A&E and completely trusted the doctors in telling us what was wrong with him.

“He could barely walk he was in so much pain. He was given a bladder scan but it didn’t really show anything up.

“The doctor said he was baffled and believed Jack was suffering from nothing more than a bad bout of constipation.”

Ketoacidosis, caused by the breakdown of fatty acids and the creation of ketones, is normally found in uncontrolled type one diabetes.

Kieron, of Porth in the Rhondda, said: “When Jack was finding it difficult to breathe the doctor thought it was probably anxiety because Jack was anxious about being in hospital.
“But him struggling to breathe was because his organs were closing down because of the ketoacidosis.

“Finding my son dead in his bed was the worst moment of my life. I believe Jack would be alive today if a few more simple tests had been carried out.”

Jack, who was studying computer science, had undergone a barium enema and been given a laxative at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital before he was discharged.

His parents checked on him through the night of April 7, 2017, but he was found dead the next day.

Kieron said: “Jack went to bed and he complained he had severe pain in his back when we got home and went to bed. He was shaking and his temperature was all over the place.

“Because we had taken him to A&E we honestly believe it wasn’t anything really serious and that it would pass with a good sleep.
“That night and the following day me and my wife Claire checked on him all through the day.

“But when I went and to check on late the following evening he wasn’t breathing and when I touched him he was ice cold.

“I tried to do CPR to save him but it was just too late.”

A post-mortem report found Jack died of ketoacidosis following severe constipation.

The report said extreme constipation and starvation while feeling unwell led to the development of the life-threatening condition.

But his dad said if Jack had been given a glucose and salt saline drip he might still be alive.

Kieron said: “Jack’s white blood cell count was up so that was an indicator something was going on in his body that wasn’t right.

“If they had tested him for ketones he would probably be alive today.

“I have to speak out both for Jack and our family which has been utterly devastated by his loss.

“People need to know what a deadly condition ketoacidosis is.”

A spokeswoman for the coroner’s office said no inquest took place and Jack died of natural causes.

A spokesman for Cwm Taf University Health Board said it did not comment on individual cases.