Michael Jackson’s Autopsy Report Update
The 50-year-old pop icon died last June after taking a cocktail of drugs including the powerful anaesthetic Propofol, which is usually administered to surgery patients in hospital. Michael’s personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
He has admitted giving Michael the anaesthetic, but insists he did so to help him sleep and his actions should not have caused Michael’s death.
However, in the 51-page report Dr. Selma Calmes states: “There are NO reports of its use for insomnia relief, to my knowledge. The only reports of its use in homes are cases of fatal abuse (first reported in 1992), suicide, murder and accident.”
Calmes goes on to conclude Propofol was given to Michael without the proper medical equipment being available. “There was no evidence of an infusion pump for control of an IV infusion. No monitors were found at the scene; a blood pressure cuff and portable pulse oxymeter were recovered from a closet in the next room.”
The doctor added patients should be constantly monitored when using anaesthetic and oxygen should be given to them. A tank of the gas was found next to Michael’s bed, but it was empty when looked at two weeks after his passing.
“The levels of Propofol found on toxicology exam are similar to those found during general anaesthesia for major surgery,” Calmes said. “The level of lorazepam, an anti-anxiety agent found in Michael’s body, would have accentuated the respiratory and cardiovascular depression from Propofol.”
