Tragedy as aspiring doctor, 17, died after suffering allergic reaction to drug given to her during routine surgery to remove her tonsils
- The aspiring doctor’s death has sparked calls for urgent reforms
An aspiring doctor tragically died after suffering an allergic reaction to a drug given to her during a routine surgery.
Alexandra Briess, 17, died from a reaction to a common anaesthetic while she was having her tonsils removed.
The ‘bright and well-loved’ teenager suffered an ‘unpredictable’ fatal anaphylactic reaction to Rocuronium after she was given the drug following the routine procedure with the NHS in Reading, Berkshire.
Senior coroner Heidi Connor has warned that more allergy sufferers will die due to a ‘lack of national leadership’.
Saying that the ‘tragic’ case was ‘not new territory’, and citing three recent cases where people had died from anaphylaxis, she has written to the Government calling for better funding and research into the condition, and the appointment of an allergies tsar.
Alexandra Briess (pictured) suffered an ‘unpredictable’ fatal anaphylactic reaction
The teenager had been given rocuronium in a routine procedure to remove her tonsils
She had never had the drug before and suffered a ‘sudden deterioration and cardiac arrest’
Alexandra, who planned to study medicine herself and volunteered at a children’s charity, had never had the drug before and suffered a ‘sudden deterioration and cardiac arrest’.
Following Alexandra’s inquest, coroner Mrs Connor has written to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, the NHS, and allergy organisations demanding change.
Allergy charities in the UK have long been calling for more funding to research the field that is notoriously underfunded.
Mrs Connor has called for a new job role to be created within the NHS to act as the leader for allergies at a national level, overseeing and coordinating funding and research.
Currently, the organisations are already in place and show ‘goodwill’ to understanding allergies, but they need to be ‘joined up’ and work together.
If not, more people are at risk of deaths, Mrs Connor writes in her Prevention of Future Deaths report.
She said: ‘The only way to improve understanding and prevent or reduce future deaths is to gather information nationally and fund appropriate research. Appropriate organisations already exist, and there is a lot of goodwill towards improving understanding in this area. It does however require national leadership and ‘joining up’ of these organisations.
‘There is significant goodwill and desire to improve amongst numerous organisations involved in anaphylaxis work.
‘What is lacking is national leadership and funding. In my view, consideration should be given to creating a leadership role and responsibility within NHS England to coordinate a national approach.’
Alexandra planned to study medicine herself and volunteered at a children’s charity,
Mrs Connor said it should be mandatory that fatal reactions are referred to the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Registry (UKFAR), something that charities have been calling for for a while.
What are the symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction?
According to the NHS, Anaphylaxis usually develops suddenly and gets worse very quickly.
The symptoms include:
- feeling lightheaded or faint
- breathing difficulties – such as fast, shallow breathing
- wheezing
- a fast heartbeat
- clammy skin
- confusion and anxiety
- collapsing or losing consciousness
There may also be other allergy symptoms, including an itchy, raised rash (hives); feeling or being sick; swelling (angioedema) or stomach pain.
UKFAR, which is happy to take on the task, can then distribute information between relevant organisations, Mrs Connor said.
The process of information sharing should be prioritised, she said.
She added: ‘Gathering data and using this to research and reduce the risk of future deaths requires funding, and this should be reviewed.’
In her report, Mrs Connor cited three cases in which three Brits died from allergies and coroners raised similar concerns.
They were Celia Marsh, a 42 year old mum who died after eating a ‘vegan’ Pret A Manger wrap with milk in, 18 year old Shante Turay-Thomas who ate hazelnut at her family home, and 14 year old Ruben Bousquet who had popcorn contaminated with milk at a cinema.
In all three cases, their coroners warned there needs to be more funding to stop allergy deaths.
‘This is not new territory,’ Mrs Connor said.
Alexandra’s inquest heard she died at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on May 31, 2021, having been given Rocuronium. A week before she had an uneventful tonsillectomy but suffered post-surgery bleeding and required further surgery on May 30. She suffered the reaction during anaesthesia and could not be rescued.
A tribute page set up in her memory raised almost £9,000, with friends fondly remembering the ‘beautiful’ girl who was a ‘loyal and loving friend with a great sense of fun’.
Alexandra leaves behind her retired doctor father, David, and mother Tanya who is a GP practice nurse.
The family, who live in a £1.5 million home in Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, did not wish to comment.
A tribute page set up in her memory raised almost £9,000, with friends fondly remembering the ‘beautiful’ girl
Alexandra leaves behind her retired doctor father, David, and mother Tanya who is a GP practice nurse
The parents of Brit Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died aged 15 in 2016 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to sesame in a baguette from Pret A Manger onboard a flight to France, have campaigned for better allergy policies since her death.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: ‘Our hearts go out to the family of Alexandra. Their tragic loss once again sheds a powerful light on the growing numbers of young people killed by anaphylaxis.
‘Alexandra’s coroner, like those at the inquests into Shante Turay-Thomas, Celia Marsh, Ruben Bousquet and many others, has called for urgent actions that should and must be taken by the Government.
‘We have long campaigned for ministers to appoint an Allergy Tsar to champion the plight of people living with allergies and for a proper national register of fatal and near fatal anaphylaxis cases.
‘As Alexandra’s coroner bluntly points out: ”This is not new territory”. Yet still there is no-one in charge of allergy in this country. We are, frankly, fed up with the delay and obfuscation by ministers. The Government has the power to help prevent other families suffering such terrible grief. Ministers need to do the right thing and urgently.’
Under the terms of her report, Mr Barclay has until 2 June to respond.
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