Teenager dies in rare reaction to drug after NHS procedure to remove tonsils

Coroner demands action after Alexandra Briess dies from allergic reaction to Rocuronium

A 17 year-old aspiring doctor died after an allergic reaction to a drug given to her during a tonsil removal surgery.

Alexandra Briess suffered an “unpredictable” fatal anaphylactic reaction to Rocuronium after she was given the drug at at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.

The teen’s case was “not new territory” and more allergy sufferers will die due to a lack of national leadership, a senior coroner warned after an inquest.

Heidi Connor has written to the government saying lives are at risk without better funding and research into anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction often triggered by an allergy, and calling for the appointment of an allergies tsar.

Allergy charities in the UK have long been calling for more funding to research the field that is notoriously under-funded.

Organisations which are already in place to research allergies need to be “joined up” and work together to avoid further deaths, Ms Connor argued in a letter to health secretary Steve Barclay, the NHS and allergy organisations.

She wrote: “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.”

Ms 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.

UKFAR, which is happy to take on the task, can then distribute information between relevant organisations, she said.

Family of Celia Marsh, (from left) daughters Kayleigh, Brenna, Ashleigh and Marsh’s husband Andy outside Avon Coroner’s Court in Bristol following the inquest into her death on 22 September 2022 (PA)

Alexandra, who planned to study medicine herself and volunteered at a children’s charity, had never had Rocuronium before and suffered a “sudden deterioration and cardiac arrest”.

In her report, Ms Connor cited three other cases in which three Brits died from allergic reactions and coroners raised similar concerns.

They were Celia Marsh, a 42-year-old mum who died after eating a “vegan” Pret A Manger wrap containing milk, 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,” Ms Connor said.

Alexandra died at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading (Andrew Smith/Geograph/CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Alexandra’s inquest heard she died at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 31 May 2021, having been given Rocuronium. She suffered a reaction during anaesthesia for surgery 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 did not wish to comment.

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: “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.”

She added: “We are, frankly, fed up with the delay and obfuscation by ministers.”

Under the terms of Ms Connor’s report, Mr Barclay has until 2 June to respond.

Solent News contributed to this report