A pregnant beauty therapist died from septic shock after developing an infection caused by damage to her bladder following years of ketamine abuse. Zoe Tighe, 22, had visited the hospital on four occasions over a six-week period complaining of lower abdominal pain before she died in 2023. She was treated for a recurring urinary tract infection (UTI) but medics failed to carry out a pregnancy test on the young woman, who was unaware she was expecting. She was eventually diagnosed with sepsis during her final admission, where a scan also revealed she was 14 weeks pregnant but the baby had already died as a result of the infection. Miss Tighe suffered three cardiac arrests shortly after birth was induced and died.
Inquest Findings
At the start of an inquest earlier this month, her mother, Jane, complained hospital staff ‘didn’t look beyond her ketamine use’ and were ‘not interested in investigating if anything else was wrong’. However, coroner Johanna Thompson has now ruled that while there were missed opportunities to detect an unknown pregnancy, those failings did not cause her death as there was no infection of the foetus, placenta or birth canal. Recording a narrative conclusion, she said Miss Tighe, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, went into septic shock due to a UTI with ‘medical complications arising from ketamine misuse’.
Background of Ketamine Abuse
The inquest in Norwich heard that Miss Tighe started taking ketamine following the tragic death of her father when she was 17. By the time she was 20, she was suffering from severe bladder ulceration and chronic pain, as well as incontinence and frequent urinary infections. She was referred to a specialist ketamine bladder service in March 2021, by which time she had already given up work due to the pain. Miss Tighe took part in a rehabilitation programme in early 2023 and completed it in March of that year but relapsed within two weeks of returning home.
Independent expert witness Dr Krishnan Anantharamakrishnan told the inquest she had reached stage three ketamine bladder syndrome - the most serious level, where a severely contracted bladder sends urine back towards the kidneys. This can sometimes be alleviated with major surgery but continued ketamine use makes treatment more difficult, he added. Normal painkillers are ‘often ineffective’.
Medical Visits and Missed Diagnosis
After visiting her GP with abdominal pain, Miss Tighe – who had become largely wheelchair bound due to her condition - had her first visit to James Paget Hospital (JPH) in Gorleston, Norfolk, on April 24, followed by trips on May 22, June 2 and June 7. She was repeatedly given antibiotics and by June 22 had attempted suicide because of her ongoing discomfort. On June 24 she collapsed at home and was returned to A&E in a critical condition. She was given a CT scan which revealed a severe kidney infection and the ‘huge shock’ that she was pregnant but that the baby had miscarried. Sepsis was also confirmed. Later the same day, Miss Tighe was transferred to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital where doctors delivered the baby and tried to stabilise her. She went into cardiac arrest in the early hours of June 25, however, and died the following day.
Coroner's Remarks
Ms Thompson said if Miss Tighe had known she was pregnant, she might have accepted support from other health services. But she added it was clear the pregnancy didn’t cause the fatal infection. Additional learning had been put in place at JPH since her death and blood testing was now carried out routinely on all women of childbearing age, she noted. ‘I express my sincere sympathies to Zoe’s mother and partner,’ Ms Thompson added.
Mother's Statement
In a statement to the inquest, Miss Tighe's mother said: ‘She had everything to live for - a promising career, secure and loving home and a nice boyfriend. Unfortunately, [after returning home] her physical health was still very poor and she was in extreme pain all of the time. Although she sought help – joining support groups, speaking to her support worker and seeing the GP frequently to get pain relief – the pain was relentless.’
Ketamine is used as an anaesthetic in human and veterinary medicine. Long-term use can also result in memory problems, anxiety, depression and paranoia.
