Latest news with #caffeineoverdose
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Student's fatal caffeine overdose initially dismissed as vertigo
Christina Lackmann, a 32-year-old biomedical science student from Australia, died in April 2021 from a caffeine overdose at her home after a nearly seven-hour wait for an ambulance. Lackmann called emergency services, feeling dizzy and numb, but her call was categorised as non-urgent as the emergency services operator believed it was a case of vertigo, leading to significant delays in medical assistance. Paramedics were assigned to her twice but were redirected to higher-priority emergencies, resulting in her being found dead in her bathroom hours after her initial call. A toxicology report confirmed lethal levels of caffeine in her system, and the coroner concluded her death was a consequence of ingesting caffeine tablets. An expert stated Lackmann likely would have survived with timely treatment if emergency services had inquired about medication, and the ambulance response was deemed an excessive and unacceptable delay.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Australian woman dies of caffeine overdose after ‘unacceptable' 7-hour wait for ambulance
An Australian woman died from a caffeine overdose in April 2021 after waiting nearly seven hours for an ambulance, an inquest has heard. Christina Lackmann, 32, from Melbourne, was feeling dizzy and numb when she called emergency services. She didn't receive any help and died alone in her bathroom hours later. Lackmann didn't get immediate medical attention, 9News reported, because there was an 'unacceptable' delay in the ambulance arriving at her home. She was found unresponsive on her bathroom floor with her dog by her side. A toxicology report later confirmed lethal levels of caffeine in her body, traced to 90 tablets each with 200mg caffeine that she had taken earlier in the day. Thinking it was a case of vertigo, the emergency services operator categorised Lackmann's call as 'non-urgent' and an ambulance didn't reach her until just after 2am, nearly seven hours after she had first made the call for help. 'At 7.49pm, Christina called 000 from her mobile phone and requested an ambulance. She reported to the call-taker she felt sick, numb all over her body, and dizzy,' the coroner's file read. 'I am satisfied that Christina's death was the consequence of the ingestion of caffeine tablets, ' coroner Catherine Fitzgerald added. 'However, I am not satisfied to the requisite standard that Christina intended to take her own life, although this remains a distinct possibility.' A paramedic was assigned to attend to the biomedical science student twice between 9.14pm and 1.46am but both times they were redirected to respond to higher-priority emergencies. After an ambulance arrived at Lackmann's residence at 2.23am, paramedics took help from a neighbour to climb onto her balcony from an adjacent apartment. Inside, they found Lackmann dead in her bathroom. She was found to have an exceptionally high concentration of caffeine in her blood and stomach. According to court documents, associate professor Narendra Gunja, a specialist medical practitioner in clinical and forensic toxicology, said Lackmann likely would have received treatment sooner had she been asked about any medication she was taking during the emergency call, according to the report. 'This would likely have led to appropriate management with the use of antidote therapy and haemodialysis. If these management strategies were followed, Gunja considered it likely that Christina would have survived, even with a large caffeine overdose,' the file recorded. 'However, in the absence of information about the time Christina ingested the caffeine, or the length of time between ingestion and the making of 000 call, Gunja was not able to pinpoint a specific time at which Christina's death was still preventable.' The report concluded the ambulance services response that night was marked by an 'excessive and unacceptable' delay. Lackmann was born in Mona Vale, New South Wales, and grew up with her parents and two brothers. In March, fitness enthusiast Katie Donnell, 28, died from a caffeine overdose, which her grieving mother attributed to excessive energy drink consumption. A similar case occurred in 2018, when Australian musician Lachlan Foote, 21, died after mixing a teaspoon of caffeine powder into a protein shake.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Australian woman dies of caffeine overdose after ‘unacceptable' 7-hour ambulance delay
An Australian woman died of caffeine overdose after waiting more than seven hours for an ambulance, a coroner has ruled, saying that the delay was a factor in her death. Advertisement Biomedical student Christina Lackmann, 32, was found dead in her Melbourne flat in April 2021. Her death was caused by an overdose of caffeine tablets, Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald found earlier this month, according to media channel on Tuesday. Lackmann had called the emergency line for help just before 8pm on April 21, 2021, saying she felt dizzy and numb, and could not get up from the floor. 'Please hurry,' she said. Believing she was just having vertigo, the operator classified Lackmann's case as non-urgent, Stuff news website reported. When the operator called her back 30 minutes later, she did not answer. Her phone went unanswered for the next 13 calls and her case was reclassified to ensure an ambulance would be dispatched. However, because of the high demand, two ambulance teams assigned to Lackmann were diverted to higher priority cases. Advertisement Help came only shortly before 3am, more than seven hours since Lackmann's call for help. Paramedics had to climb through a neighbour's balcony to gain entry and found her lying on the bathroom floor with her agitated dog by her side. She had been dead for some time, according to the New York Post newspaper. A toxicology report showed that Lackmann had dangerously high levels of caffeine in her blood at the time of her death, national broadcaster 9 News reported. An email on her phone found that she had received an iHerb order of 90 200mg caffeine tablets that day.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Melbourne woman dies of caffeine overdose, coroner rules
A Melbourne woman died of a caffeine overdose, alone in her apartment waiting more than seven hours for an ambulance, the coroner has found. The coroner said the backlog of ambulances ramping at Melbourne hospitals and issues with the triple-0 triage system were factors in the death, and she intended her findings to 'highlight the very real potential human consequences of ambulance ramping in Victoria'. Biomedical science student Christina Lackmann died in her Caulfield North home in April 2021. The 32-year-old died after taking caffeine tablets, Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald said in a ruling delivered this month. 'The available evidence does not establish the precise time that Christina ingested the caffeine, or the quantity ingested,' Ms Fitzgerald said. 'In the absence of this information, I am not able to reach a definitive conclusion as to whether her death was preventable with earlier ambulance attendance.' Eighty per cent of Melbourne's metro ambulances were ramped at hospitals when Ms Lackmann called triple-0, the coroner said. In her decision, Ms Fitzgerald detailed Ms Lackmann had previously attempted to take her own life with an overdose of caffeine tablets in 2015, but sought medical help. She had been struggling with depression since her father's death by a sudden heart attack, and she had a history of anorexia nervosa and gastrointestinal issues. In the months before she died, Ms Lackmann was working on the final semester of her science degree and hoped to continue onto honours. Just before 8pm on April 21, 2021, Ms Lackmann called triple-0, reporting she felt sick, numb all over, dizzy and she could not get up from the floor. The operator triaged the call as a non-urgent case of dizziness and vertigo. This classification meant Ms Lackmann's call was suitable to be transferred to a paramedic or nurse, but none of these secondary medical professionals were available to take a call. The triple-0 operator told Ms Lackmann to keep by the phone, or call triple-0 again if things change. Ms Lackmann said it may be difficult for paramedics to get into her secure apartment building. 'I can't get up,' she said. 'Please hurry.' The operator told Ms Lackmann help had been organised. Less than 30 minutes later one of the nurse or paramedic secondary carers called Ms Lackmann, but her phone went unanswered. Text messages and 13 more calls got no response. Ms Lackmann's mother would later question why the unanswered calls did not trigger a welfare check from another agency. Ambulance Victoria's internal systems flagged Ms Lackmann's location as an area where there were ambulances available. Eighty-four minutes after her call to triple-0, Ms Lackmann's case was bumped up to code two to 'to improve the likelihood' an ambulance would be dispatched, the Coroner said. Immediately after this upgrade, and Advanced Life Support paramedic was assigned to Ms Lackmann's case, but the ambulance was diverted to a higher priority job. A similar diversion happened again about three and a half hours later, at 1.46am. Just after 2am an ambulance was dispatched. The paramedic arrived at 2.23am, and was hindered from getting inside until a neighbour helped. The paramedics climbed up from a neighbour's balcony and could see Ms Lackmann lying unconscious; her dog was agitated and barking, and paramedics called police for help. Police arrived, secured the dog, and paramedics got into the apartment 'shortly before 3am, a total of seven hours and 11 minutes since Christina's triple-0 call'. Paramedics saw she had been dead for a prolonged period. An email to Ms Lackmann showed 90 200mg caffeine tablets had been delivered to her apartment that day, but neither the tablets nor packaging were ever found. The autopsy found caffeine levels in her blood at very high to potentially fatal levels. A caffeine overdose can lead to seizures and fatal heart arrhythmias. A toxicologist told the coronial inquest levels of caffeine so high could not be achieved from drinking coffee. Overdoses are 'largely preventable when treating clinicians know what they are treating,' the Coroner said. The toxicologist said if Ms Lackmann had been in hospital immediately after calling triple-0 and told doctors what she took, she likely would have survived with treatment. However, the Coroner could not say when Ms Lackmann took the tablets, so could not rule on the effect of the ambulance delays. Ambulance Victoria carried out an analysis of the incident after Ms Lackmann's death. There was an 'excessive and unacceptable' delay in ambulance response times that night, the report found. Also, at the time there was no standard process for Ambulance Victoria call takers to request a welfare check from another agency. The report made seven recommendations for change; by May 2025, Ambulance Victoria had made all seven changes. However, the Coroner said had Ms Lackmann known an ambulance was not on its way, she may have been empowered to seek other help. 'I am satisfied that Christina's death was the consequence of the ingestion of caffeine tablets,' the Coroner said. 'However, I am not satisfied to the requisite standard that Christina intended to take her own life, although this remains a distinct possibility.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Australian woman dies after consuming too much caffeine
A Melbourne woman who waited more than seven hours for an ambulance died alone in her apartment from a caffeine overdose, despite calling for help the night before. Christina Lackmann, 32, contacted emergency services from her Caulfield North home on April 20, 2021, describing symptoms including dizziness, numbness, and feeling light-headed. She was found dead the next morning. Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald found the aspiring cancer researcher would likely have survived had paramedics arrived sooner. Ms Lackmann made a triple zero call at 7.49pm, telling a handler she was feeling unwell and was unable to get up from the floor. The coroner has highlighted problems with the response to the call, including not transferring Ms Lackmann to a health practitioner for further assessment. At no point did she disclose she had taken caffeine tablets and was categorised as a non-acute/non-urgent Code 3. She was told to keep her phone line free and Ambulance Victoria staff attempted to call her back 14 times. Ms Lackmann was also sent one text but all attempts to contact her were left unanswered. Christina Lackmann (pictured) died in the early hours of April 22, 2021 after calling for help the previous evening when she felt sick, dizzy and was unable to get up off the floor Caffeine tablets were delivered to Ms Lackmann's apartment on the same day she made the triple-zero call. The tablets nor their packaging was found in the apartment (stock) Ms Lackmann, who was studying for her final semester of a biomedical sciences degree, had called her mother Beate Lackmann earlier in the evening, but she was unable to answer the call. Beate told the inquest she attempted to call her daughter back at 6.30pm. She did not answer but told her mum she was 'ok' during a text exchange. Her case priority was upgraded an hour after her triple-zero call, which should have improved her chances of having an ambulance dispatched imminently. However, two ambulances that were subsequently assigned to her were diverted to greater-priority cases. Seven hours and 11 minutes after her call for help , paramedics gained access to Ms Lackmann's apartment shortly before 3am. She was pronounced dead soon after having died alone on her bathroom room. It was later discovered via an email on Ms Lackmann's phone that she an iHerb order of caffeine tablets had been delivered to her apartment on the day she made the triple-zero call. Ms Lackmann (pictured with her mother Beate Lackmann) did not respond to Ambulance Victoria staff's 14 attempts to call her back following her initial triple-zero call The tablets nor their packaging was found in the apartment. A post-mortem found Ms Lackmann had ingested a very high concentration of caffeine. Associate Professor Narendra Gunja, a specialist medical practitioner in clinical and forensic toxicology, said caffeine overdoses can become fatal within eight hours of ingestion. He said if paramedics had been dispatched to Ms Lackmann and she had been hospitalised soon after her call for help, she would have likely received proper medical treatment. Ms Lackmann would likely have been asked what she had ingested and treated for a caffeine overdose. He said he was unable to suggest an exact time when her death was preventable because it was not clear when Ms Lackmann took the tablets nor how large the dose was. The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine's chief toxicologist, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, said the concentration of caffeine found in Ms Lackmann's blood could not be achieved by drinking coffee. Ms Fitzgerald slammed Ambulance Victoria in her ruling and said the wait time was 'unacceptable', with 80 per cent of their vehicles unable to respond to emergencies as they were ramped up at hospitals. Ambulance ramping involves paramedics being forced to wait to offload patients at emergency departments. Following the inquest, Ambulance Victoria undertook an internal review and made changes to its procedures.
