A teenager accused of killing their mother died just hours after doctors discovered they were suffering from a "life-threatening" condition, an inquest was told. Rowan Thompson was an inpatient on the Gardener Unit at Prestwich Hospital when they passed away just days before they were due to appear in court.
The 18-year-old, who identified as non-binary and used the pronouns 'they/them', had suddenly collapsed a week before their death on October 3, 2020. An inquest at Rochdale Coroner’s Court held yesterday heard that doctors initially thought the incident was caused by a change in medication.
However, blood tests later revealed that the teen was suffering from "severe hypokalemia", Manchester Evening News reports. The condition means that there is too low a concentration of potassium in the blood, which can cause fatigue, muscle cramps and hallucinations.
However Rowan's test results were not communicated to those charged with their care on the Gardener Unit. They died the following day.
Had Rowan been admitted to hospital after the blood tests, the inquest heard they would likely have survived. The jury heard that at the time of their death, Rowan, who had been diagnosed with autism, was awaiting trial in connection with their mother's death.
Giving evidence, Rowan’s father Marc Thompson described his child as a "bright, fun individual". He told the inquest that he and Rowan's mother had separated when Rowan was just ten years old, and he had then gone to live with his mother.
Jurors were told that Rowan's mental health began to deteriorate following the death of their uncle. After spending time in a number of mental health hospitals, Rowan moved to live with their father in Barnsley, West Yorkshire.
The inquest heard that Rowan had gone to visit his mother for a weekend to celebrate his 17th birthday in June 2019. However, on the day they were due to return home, Mr Thompson said that Rowan “killed their mum”.
“It was obvious he was in a mental state,” Mr Thompson told the inquest. “We will never know what happened, we can only surmise.”
Following their arrest, Rowan was detained under the Mental Health Act and admitted to the Gardener Unit. Mr Thompson said he visited regularly and while Rowan’s weight “fluctuated” during his time on the unit, he had no concern about their physical health.
Dr Isabel Astrid Marsh, a GP at the Gardener Unit, told the inquest that she had prescribed Rowan flucloxacillin to treat an infection. The inquest heard that low levels of potassium are among the drug's side effects when taken in high doses. However, Dr Marsh said Rowan’s dose could not be classified “high”.
Jurors also heard that Rowan had experienced weight loss during his time on the unit. Between January and March 2020, the inquest heard that Rowan lost 12kg in weight.
Dr Marsh said that between April and September, Rowan's weight dropped further from 71kg to 62kg. However, she said it was “not a concern” as Rowan reported eating well.
By September 29, Rowan had shed a further 4.6kg and now weighed just 58kg, the inquest heard. Dr Marsh said Rowan put the weight loss down to “stress from the upcoming trial”.
“I felt there were reasons that could explain Rowan gaining and losing weight,” she said.
Blood tests carried out at Salford Royal Hospital on October 2 showed Rowan had a "very low" level of potassium, jurors heard. Dr Stephen Morley, a toxicologist who carried out a review into Rowan’s death, described the reading of 2.3 millimoles per litre as "life-threatening" and said it should have been treated as a medical emergency.
Had Rowan been admitted to hospital and treated by being given intravenous potassium that same day, he said it was likely he would survived. Dr Morley said that while it was likely there had been “a chronic, slow change” in Rowan's potassium levels before death, it was not clear what had caused it.
However, he ruled out medication as having contributed to the change. "To put it bluntly, I’m at a loss as to why he had low potassium,” he added.
Dr Morley told jurors that while the collapse on September 25 could have been caused by Rowan's low potassium levels, it could also have been due to a change in medication "or other one hundred other causes".
"If the fall was due to low potassium, it would be unusual for it to occur on just that one occasion and not more often up to the time of his death," he added.
Dr Philip Lumb, a forensic pathologoist who carried out a post-mortem examination on Rowan, gave his cause of death as “hypokalemia of an unknown cause”.
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