Женщина погибла от редкого синдрома после замены препарата из-за нехватки лекарств

A woman in her 50s died suddenly from a “very rare” syndrome after her usual medication went out of stock and she was given a replacement. Mariola Thompson, a former carer, was living with her husband in Beck Row at the time of her death, Suffolk Coroners’ Court was told. She was admitted to West Suffolk Hospital on June 26 last year, suffering from a dangerously high temperature, breathlessness and confusion. Doctors queried whether Mrs Thompson, 56, was suffering from sepsis, and quickly commenced treatment to bring her symptoms under control. However, Mrs Thompson died later that day. An inquest into her death was held, as initially it was unclear how Mrs Thompson had died. Later, a histopathologist carried out a post-mortem and found Mrs Thompson had died as a result of neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare reaction to antipsychotic drugs. Giving evidence before the inquest on Monday was Dr George Hopkinson, Mrs Thompson’s GP. He explained that Mrs Thompson was prescribed quetiapine by a psychiatrist in November 2024, having suffered from low mood, anxiety and hallucinations. However, in May 2025 the drug went out of stock and she was instead prescribed olanzapine. This is a “like for like” drug, explained Dr Hopkinson, and it was a preferable alternative to disrupting Mrs Thompson’s period of stable mental health by abruptly stopping her medication altogether. The court heard that sometimes, neuroleptic malignant syndrome is preceded by a change in medication or drug dosage. Read more Death of American colonel who died hours after treatment explained Coroner says 'tragic' death of 29-year-old might have been avoided The 'tragic' cold case of the Croft man - and all we know six years later Suffolk’s senior coroner, Nigel Parsley, found the solution to give Mrs Thompson olanzapine to be “practical”, and that “it was a decision made without the benefit of hindsight that a tragedy would occur”. He added that from the evidence, it could not be proven beyond doubt that the medication change caused neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Mr Parsley also queried whether Mrs Thompson could have gone on to develop the syndrome if she remained on quetiapine, and Dr Hopkinson confirmed this was a possibility. Mr Parsley delivered a narrative conclusion. He found that Mrs Thompson died as a result of neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare complication of a prescribed medication which she took prior to her death. He ended proceedings by offering his own condolences to Mrs Thompson’s family.