PRP player who died wasn't dehydrated, experts say
Medical records show PRP player wasn't dehydrated, two say
Medical records show PRP player wasn't dehydrated, two say
Hospital records indicate that Pleasure Ridge Park High School sophomore Max Gilpin did not die because coaches denied him water during a football practice, according to a medical expert for Max's coaches.
Instead, a prescription drug Max was taking for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder most likely triggered the heat stroke that led to his death in August, because it contained amphetamine, which can cause overheating, said Dr. George Nichols, Kentucky's former chief medical examiner...
...Dr. William Smock, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Louisville, who has no connection to the case and reviewed Max's medical records at The Courier-Journal's request, agreed with Nichols that Max's heat stroke was not caused by lack of water.
Smock, who is also director of the clinical forensic medicine program at University Hospital, also said he believes Adderall prompted Max's heat stroke and death....
...Dr. George Rodgers, a professor in U of L's department of pediatrics and its department of pharmacology and toxicology, said Max's initially low urine output when he was brought to the hospital is one of several factors that suggest he might have been dehydrated.
And he said the link to Adderall is "tenuous." While there have been reports of heat-stroke deaths caused by amphetamines, he said, they occurred in people taking excessive amounts, for weight control or other reasons...
...The conclusions of Nichols and Smock are significant because Jefferson County prosecutors said in court papers released last week that Stinson faces a criminal charge in part because he repeatedly denied players water at the Aug. 20 practice where Max and another player collapsed. Max died three days later....
...Rogers and lawyers for Max's mother contend that Nichols' analysis is flawed because it fails to account for fluids Max received en route to the hospital and when he arrived in the emergency room...
... Todd Thompson, co-counsel for Max's mother, said yesterday that Stinson and the other coaches were still negligent, first by requiring players to run until one of them quit the team, and then by waiting 15 to 25 minutes to call an ambulance.
Thompson also said the coaches failed to have ice towels on hand to cool players, as required under state rules....
...Nichols said there is no dispute that Max's death was caused by heat stroke, but he said it is a popular misconception that heat stroke is always caused by dehydration...
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