BBCThe loss of life of a nurse from North Lanarkshire has been linked to the usage of a weight-loss drug not too long ago permitted to be used on the NHS.
Susan McGowan, 58, took two low-dose injections of tirzepatide, identified beneath the model identify Mounjaro, over the course of about two weeks earlier than her loss of life on 4 September.
Her loss of life certificates, seen by the BBC, lists a number of organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis because the instant reason for loss of life – however “the usage of prescribed tirzepatide” can also be recorded as a contributing issue.
It’s considered the primary loss of life formally linked to the drug within the UK
Ms McGowan labored as a nurse at College Hospital Monklands in Airdrie for greater than 30 years.
The favored mattress supervisor had usually mentioned her weight reduction makes an attempt with shut buddies, however the emergence of recent weight-loss jabs appeared to her to supply higher possibilities of success.
After researching Mounjaro and looking for medical recommendation, she bought a prescription through a registered on-line pharmacy.
The drug usually prices between £150 and £200 for a four-week provide and could be bought from any registered pharmacy within the UK.
Days after her second injection she started experiencing extreme abdomen pains and illness, so she went to A&E at Monklands – the place her colleagues battled to avoid wasting her life.
Jade Campbell, Ms McGowan’s niece, was together with her when she died.
She mentioned: “Susan had all the time carried a wee bit of additional weight however there have been by no means any well being issues. She wasn’t on another medicine. She was wholesome.”
“Susan was such a bubbly particular person. She was actually beneficiant, she was actually type and she or he was the lifetime of the celebration – an enormous persona. They mentioned she had the largest giggle within the hospital.”
Ms Campbell was informed by docs that her aunt’s kidneys weren’t functioning correctly. Days later she went right into a coma, and her organs started to fail.
“It was so fast,” she mentioned. “I nonetheless discover myself considering, ‘has that truly occurred?’”
Tirzepatide is one among a bunch of weight-loss medication often known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which work by making the affected person really feel fuller for longer.
It was permitted to be used as a weight-loss assist within the UK in 2023 by the Medicines and Healthcare merchandise Regulatory Company (MHRA).
That included use on the NHS, though the drug is at present solely prescribed by the NHS for a small variety of sufferers as a consequence of components like value and availability.
The MHRA runs the yellow card scheme, the place any member of the general public or well being occupation can log experiences of suspected unwanted side effects of medicine.
Public information is simply out there as much as Might this yr, however between January and Might 2024 there have been 208 experiences about tirzepatide on the yellow card scheme, together with 31 critical reactions and one suspected loss of life of a person in his sixties.
Ms McGowan’s loss of life is just too current to seem inside this information.
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief security officer, mentioned that new medicines, reminiscent of tirzepatide, are extra intensively monitored to make sure any new issues of safety are recognized promptly.
She mentioned: “Our honest sympathies are with the household of particular person involved. Affected person security is our prime precedence and no drugs could be permitted except it met our anticipated requirements of security, high quality and effectiveness.
“We’ve strong, security monitoring and surveillance methods in place for all healthcare merchandise.
“On the idea of the present proof the advantages of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential dangers when used for the licensed indications.”
Mounjaro producer Lilly mentioned affected person security was the corporate’s prime precedence.
A spokesperson mentioned: “We’re dedicated to repeatedly monitoring, evaluating, and reporting security info for all Lilly medicines.
“Mounjaro was permitted based mostly on in depth evaluation of the advantages and dangers of the drugs, and we offer details about the advantages and dangers of all our medicines to regulators world wide to make sure the newest info is out there for prescribers.”
Are weight-loss medication secure?
Semaglutide, identified by the model names Wegovy and Ozempic, are additionally GLP-1 receptor agonists.
There have been 23 suspected deaths linked to semaglutide within the UK through the yellow card scheme since 2019.
These medication have handed the medical trials wanted to be permitted to be used within the UK and have been cautiously welcomed by these working to deal with weight problems.
Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic drugs on the College of Glasgow and chairs of the UK authorities’s weight problems mission, mentioned it was tough to ascertain “trigger and impact” in single instances the place sufferers die after taking the medication.
He mentioned: “Trials are very strong in attempting to ascertain security, that the medication usually have substantial advantages that outweigh the dangers.
“There’s sufficient proof out there that these medication have robust significant weight reduction, that the aspect impact profiles are usually okay for the overwhelming majority of people.
“The truth is we’ve an enormous want to assist many individuals residing with excessive ranges of excessive BMI to assist drop pounds with these medication that may give a number of advantages and for a few years we haven’t had such instruments. There are lots of people, roughly talking one in 4 to at least one in 5 adults residing within the UK, who may benefit from these medication.”
Tirzepatide grew to become the topic of nationwide debate not too long ago when the UK authorities introduced plans to roll it out to unemployed people to assist them again into work.
The federal government is partnering with the Mounjaro producer to run a five-year trial in Better Manchester.
Almost 250,000 persons are anticipated to obtain the jab over the subsequent three years as a part of the trial and Well being Secretary Wes Streeting has hailed the jabs as “game-changing”.
However Ms Campbell believes it isn’t the appropriate time and hopes the UK authorities will rethink the choice.
She mentioned: “I believe something that is backed by the federal government, you’d belief. I’d ask you to talk to your GP about issues like this primary, there is likely to be another choice so that you can think about earlier than you soar on the weight-loss injections.”
BBC Information requested the division of well being and social care if it could assessment its resolution given Ms McGowan’s loss of life.
The UK authorities declined to remark.
