Coroner's Finding: Davis Tracy-Lee

34y · Female·hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy due to anaphylactic shock due to antibiotic allergy

A 34-year-old woman died from anaphylactic shock to Ceclor, a cephalosporin antibiotic prescribed for otitis externa. Her medical records clearly documented allergies to cephalosporins (Ibilex) and sulphur-based antibiotics, documented at the Europa Medical Centre. Dr G., aged 83, examined the patient and prescribed Ceclor without checking her allergy alert on the computer system. He acknowledged the allergy warning would have been visible when entering notes post-consultation but stated he did not see it. The critical failure was not reviewing the patient's documented allergies before prescribing a cross-reactive antibiotic. This case highlights the importance of systematic allergy verification before any prescription, particularly with computer-flagged alerts, and raises concerns about clinical practice in older practitioners.