Steroid treatment for eye disorder led to man’s death
Cork City Coroner’s Court was told how Remmy Ajayi, 33, living in Greenfields in Ballincollig, Co Cork, suffered a very rare but fatal side-affect from the steroids which were being used to treat his eye problem.
The treatment caused severe onset diabetes which resulted in his pancreas shutting down. This, in turn, led to complete organ failure and Mr Ajayi died last November.
Assistant state pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said, on the balance of probabilities, the steroid therapy was responsible for his death.
City coroner Dr Myra Cullinane recorded a verdict of death due to medical misadventure.
The inquest heard how Mr Ajayi had coreo retinitis — an inflammation of two layers of the eye — which can, if untreated, lead to blindness.
He was put on a course of steroid therapy, as well as other medications, to tackle the condition.
However, after two months on the treatments, he became very unwell and was admitted to Cork University Hospital where he was diagnosed with acute renal failure.
Within hours, he suffered complete organ failure and died on November 21, 2008.
Dr Bolster conducted an autopsy which found that Mr Ajayi had acute pancreatitis — a severe swelling of the pancreas which has a very high (73%) mortality rate. She also found evidence of acute onset diabetes in a person with no history of diabetes.
She said in her opinion, the steroid therapy had caused the severe diabetes which in turn caused the pancreatic disease which led to organ failure.
Just a few months before, Mr Ajayi had malaria but Dr Bolster said she was satisfied that it had been treated successfully and played no role in his death.
Dr Cullinane told the family that unfortunately, the side-effects associated with steroid therapy differ from patient to patient.
They are not related to the dose of the therapy, or the length of time the patient is on the therapy, she said.
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