Woman dies after consuming laksa prawns, despite knowing she was allergic to shellfish

Anyone with shellfish allergies will understand the precautions you have to take to avoid an allergic reaction. Unfortunately, Khoo Siew Hong assumed that because she had consumed prawns without suffering a bad reaction before, it was probably safe to eat them again a couple days later. Tragically, this turned out to be fatal for the 60-year-old.

Unemployed and bound to a wheelchair, Khoo lived in a flat at Lorong 3 Geylang with her sister and two helpers.

Despite knowing she was allergic to prawns, Khoo ate prawn dumplings at Shin Yeh Restaurant in Liang Court shopping mall for lunch on March 4. No allergic symptoms occurred, so she asked to eat some prawns that her helpers had prepared for a laksa lunch on March 8, and they gave her two pieces.

About two-and-a-half hours later, she complained of itchiness. One of her helpers gave her an antihistamine pill to combat the allergic reaction to shellfish — this had been prescribed to Khoo by Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

After several minutes, Khoo’s face began to swell and develop a rash, which increased in intensity. Twenty minutes later, Khoo said she felt breathless, and her helper applied medicated oil on her nostrils to help her breathe.

Shortly after, she went limp, and the household alerted the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). An officer gave instructions to the helper over the phone, guiding her to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Khoo until the paramedics reached the scene at 3:40pm.

Khoo was unconscious when she was brought to TTSH, reported The Straits Times. Paramedics continued performing CPR and administered 12 doses of adrenaline to her.

At the hospital, doctors told Khoo’s sister that her prognosis was poor. Family members were contacted, and they decided to take her off the ventilator. Khoo was pronounced dead at about 9:50pm that same day.

An autopsy showed an accumulation of fluid in her larynx, which corresponds to an allergic reaction. A forensic pathologist found that she died of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, which is consistent with food allergy.

Of the “truly unfortunate misadventure”, State Coroner Marvin Bay said that “the only absolute way to prevent shellfish allergy is to avoid all shellfish and all products that contain shellfish”.