A woman who was rushed to with a severe toothache died when she had a one-of-a-kind reaction to a common medical procedure.

Leigh Rodgers had been suffering from an intense toothache for two weeks when she was taken to hospital on March 7, 2024, with pain extending through her mouth and to her neck and chest. The 34-year-old was taken to University Hospital of North Durham and initially found to have been suffering from an abscess.

Medics, keen to further investigate Leigh's condition, opted for additional testing to rule out the presence of a life-threatening bacterial infection named Ludwig's angina. But an has heard that she died after she suffered a severe allergic reaction to the testing fluid doctors used to make her body more visible on scans.

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The reported that Leigh was given an iodine-based contrast media, a specialised dye that allows doctors to better see the body during imaging, and placed in a scan machine. Her partner Darren told the inquest about the moment she "suffered a reaction" inside the machine and went into anaphylactic shock.

He said: "We thought nothing of her being asked to go for the CT scan, she was in the doctor's hands at that point. I saw a rush of people go into the room, and I couldn't really see what was happening, but soon found out that Leigh had suffered a reaction." Leigh died after doctors tried for 90 minutes to resuscitate her.

A post-mortem later concluded she had died from a reaction to the contrast media. Dr Oliver Moore, a consultant in emergency medicine at the University Hospital of North Durham, saying it was the first time in his career he had seen someone experience an allergic reaction to the fluid.

He said: "CT scans do come with a risk of reaction, but this is the single case of this situation in my practice, and I believe that there was no delay in administering treatment". In his conclusion, Crispin Oliver, senior assistant coroner for County Durham and Darlington, delivered a narrative verdict, ruling that Leigh died from "severe refractory anaphylaxis to contrast media".

He added the death was "very unusual" and "extremely unfortunate" as he delivered the verdict. He said: "This is a death in very unusual circumstances, and it is extremely unfortunate. I wish that Leigh's family did not have to be here today, and I hope that this never happens to anyone again."