Girl died from excessive caffeine, ambulance drove for over 7 hours due to “insignificance” of the situation

In April 2021, a 32-year-old biomedical student from Melbourne, Christina Lekman, went to the emergency room feeling dizzy and numb, unable to get up from the floor. Her case was initially assessed as “non-urgent” but was later upgraded to priority level two, resulting in a delay of more than seven hours.

It was not until around 2:30 am that paramedics arrived at her home, where they found her unresponsive in the bathroom. Her dog was with her. A toxicology test revealed that she had taken 90 200mg caffeine tablets, totaling 18,000mg. In contrast, the recommended daily intake of concentrated caffeine is approximately 400mg per day, equivalent to about 4 cups of coffee. A fatal dose of 5,000mg or more is considered deadly.

The importance of caffeine overdose

The symptoms of a caffeine overdose are much more serious than a simple malaise. They can include:

dizziness, numbness, nausea and vomiting;
tachycardia, arrhythmia;
convulsions, difficulty breathing;
in severe cases – the risk of death.
Doctors note that if Christina had been taken to hospital earlier, she could have been given hemodialysis or infusion therapy, which would have significantly increased her chances of survival.

Tragedy that points to systemic problems

Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald described the delay in the ambulance’s arrival as “unacceptable.” One reason for this delay was that 80% of the teams were busy at the hospitals at the time of the call. The dispatcher also did not transfer the call to medical triage, although the case of taking the pills required a more urgent response.

What next?

Ambulance Victoria has been criticized for its poor triage system. Internal reforms have already begun, including to reduce call handling times.
Experts warn that the use of concentrated forms of caffeine, such as tablets and powders, can be dangerous and should be avoided.
Medical organizations recommend that healthy adults should not exceed 400mg of caffeine a day and that they should seek urgent medical advice if they experience any symptoms of anxiety.
Advice for everyone

Drink your coffee, but avoid substituting it for dangerously high doses of tablets.
If you feel unwell, do not delay calling an ambulance and report everything you have taken.
Systematic monitoring and prioritizing of emergency calls can make a significant difference in people’s lives.
Remember: a safe dose of caffeine should not exceed 400 mg per day or 4 cups of coffee, while a fatal dose starts at 5,000 mg.