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Drug reaction 'may have killed athlete'
Side effects of the drug are rare |
A world class athlete may have died after suffering a reaction to anti-psychotic drugs, an inquest heard on Monday.
Sophia Smith, 24 - who was a member of the Great Britain 4x100m relay team in the 1996 world championships in Sweden - died in Nether Edge hospital's mental health unit at her home town of Sheffield in May.
The Loughborough University student was found face down in a pillow on her hospital bed, the Sheffield inquest was told.
Pathologist Dr John Clark said the exact cause of Miss Smith's death was unknown, although minor signs that her brain had been starved of oxygen might indicate that she suffocated on the pillow, or had experienced a rare reaction to anti-psychotic drugs.
Side effects extremely rare
Toxicologist Professor Robert Forest said that side effects from the drugs were extremely rare, but that they could sometimes have an adverse reaction on the heart.
The inquest heard that it was unlikely that Miss Smith had been restrained, and that she had not taken an overdose.
Miss Smith had competed all over the world and was friends with Linford Christie and 400m European Gold medallist Jamie Baulch, but suffered a nervous breakdown. She had been receiving treatment for "disturbed behaviour" for several weeks before her death.
Consultant psychologist Dr Christopher Wallbridge said she had been suffering from the delusion that she was Jesus Christ, and had to hurt herself in order to save the human race.
He said: "Between these episodes she was much calmer and could hold conversations but she was still under the delusion about saving the world."
He added a couple of days before her death she had suffered an acute episode and had injured her face by pushing it to the floor in a bid to "get to heaven".
In his notes, Dr Wallbridge wrote that she was a candidate for an intensive care unit but no places were available.
He said he was aware that anti-psychotic drugs had been associated with sudden deaths but stressed the risks were extremely low.
"We would have been more concerned with somebody who was older, less fit and suffering other problems but the risks with Sophia were considered to be very small. The risk of her harming herself without the drugs were considered much greater."
Her parents, Horace and Evelyn Smith said at the time of her death that the pressure of top competition and her studies could have contributed to her breakdown.
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02 Jul 99 | Health |
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Scientists predict acceptance of mental illness |
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British Athletics Home Pages |
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MIND - mental health charity |
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Health Net: Antipsychotics |
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