Cancer patient tells of ‘terrifying’ fits linked to hospital infection
A young patient diagnosed with a rare cancer has told an inquiry she experienced "frightening" fits that were linked to a hospital-acquired infection.
Molly Cuddihy was told she had metastatic Ewing's sarcoma when she was 15.
The now 19-year-old was cared for at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow (RHC) and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow between January 2018 and 2020, where she was fitted with a line for treatment.
Not long into her chemotherapy, Ms Cuddihy said her body went into septic shock a life-threatening condition that happens when your blood pressuredropstoadangerously low level after an infection.
She also described her rigors - episodes in which body temperature rises - as "crazy".
She was soon diagnosed with mycobacterium chelonae, an infection in her line that she later discovered came from the hospital environment - air or water-borne - and that had probably caused her temperature spikes and fits.
Speaking at a hearing yesterday, Ms Cuddihy said she had to take a "very strong" course of antibiotics she likened to bleach to treat the infection.
She said: "The medication had horrible side-effects. I thought chemo was bad, but this was something else.
"I got a prolonged QT interval with my heart. This is when my heart pumps out the blood, but then doesn't fill up fast enough, so I would often collapse."
The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry is investigating the construction of the QEUH campus after issues at the flagship site were linked to the deaths of two children.
Earlier this year, an independent review found the fatalities were at least in part the result of infections linked to the hospital environment.
During her treatment, Ms Cuddihy said her CRP (C-reactive protein) - an infection marker - was "incredibly high" around the time her body went into septic shock.
She said: "I got given treatment and I started to shake and have conscious fits.
"A nurse who I was close to got really upset because she thought it was something in her practice. But now we know it was an infection with my line."
The inquiry in Edinburgh, chaired by Lord Brodie, continues.