A woman died after going to hospital with a toothache. Leigh Rodgers, 34, had been suffering from a painful toothache for around two weeks.She was taken to University Hospital of North Durham on March 7, 2024, in an ambulance and was assessed for a tooth abscess.
Her partner said she had been suffering with a toothache for around 10-14 days and painkillers were not helping, reports ChronicleLive.
He said: “Leigh went to work on the morning of March 7, and had tried to get a dentist appointment but couldn’t for weeks. She couldn’t wait that long. I called the ambulance and the paramedics came, and when we got to the hospital, we were told that it was a dental issue but the doctor could assist with the pain.”
Doctors saidLeigh needed a CT scan to rule out a life-threatening bacterial infection.She was given an iodine-based dye, and while still in the scan machine went into anaphylactic shock.
Darren said: “I saw a rush of people go into the room, and I couldn’t really see what was happening, but soon found out that Leigh had suffered a reaction.”
Doctors tried to revive Leigh for 90 minutes, but she was declared dead. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was a reaction to the dye.Dr Oliver Moore, consultant in emergency medicine at the University Hospital of North Durham, said: “CT scans do come with a risk of reaction, but this is the single case of this situation in my practice, and I believe that there was no delay in administering treatment.”
Crispin Oliver, senior assistant coroner for County Durham and Darlington ruled that Leigh died from anaphylaxis – an allergic reaction
He said: “This is a death in very unusual circumstances, and it is extremely unfortunate.”