The contrast dye used in a CT scan caused a mother to go into anaphylactic shock and die within 90 minutes of injection.
Leigh Rodgers, 34, experienced pain in her neck and chest after being unable to schedule a dentist appointment for a tooth infection. Doctors suspected the mother from County Durham, England, had Ludwig’s angina, a potentially fatal bacterial infection caused most commonly by an abscessed tooth, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The doctors ordered a CT scan with a contrast dye injection to improve visibility. On March 7, 2024, Leigh underwent a CT scan and died as a result of an allergic reaction.
“If she could’ve gotten a dental appointment, she wouldn’t be dead,” her mother Pam Rodgers told The Daily Mail.
However, according to The Telegraph, an inquest into her death found no evidence of Ludwig’s angina on the CT scan results, and Rodgers claims the risks of the contrast dye were not adequately explained to her daughter: “I don’t accept that they [medical staff] were too busy. There’s nothing stopping them from handing out a leaflet explaining the risks of contrast dye.”
Contrast dyes are typically based on iodine or gadolinium, according to Verywell Health, and while severe allergic reactions are uncommon, they can be “life-threatening.” Patients with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or heart disease are more likely to have adverse reactions.
Rodgers went into anaphylactic shock, and attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful, according to the outlet.
“I want to make people aware of the risks of contrast medium,” her grieving mother in West Auckland, New Zealand, said. “Every time I close my eyes I imagine my daughter in the coffin.”
