What rare condition caused Mia Lucas's psychosis?

Mia Lucas suffered from undiagnosed autoimmune encephalitis, a rare condition causing brain swelling and acute psychosis.

What medical failures occurred before Mia Lucas's death?

Medical staff at Queen's Medical Centre failed to perform a lumbar puncture, and communication between centers was inadequate.

What was the outcome of the inquest into Mia Lucas's death?

The inquest concluded that failures in diagnosis and care possibly contributed to Mia's death, with her cause of death linked to acute psychosis from autoimmune encephalitis.

Home / Health / Girl, 12, Died After Medical Staff Missed Rare Brain Disorder

Girl, 12, Died After Medical Staff Missed Rare Brain Disorder

28 Nov

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Summary

A 12-year-old girl died after undiagnosed autoimmune encephalitis caused psychosis.
Inquest found medical staff failed to perform tests that could have revealed the condition.
Failure to diagnose and treat the rare brain disorder possibly contributed to her death.

Girl, 12, Died After Medical Staff Missed Rare Brain Disorder

A 12-year-old girl, Mia Lucas, died after medical staff failed to detect a rare autoimmune encephalitis that caused her 'acute psychosis.' An inquest concluded that the failure to conduct a lumbar puncture at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) meant potential indicators of the condition were missed, possibly contributing to her death.

The information passed between QMC and Sheffield's Becton Centre provided an inappropriate level of assurance that organic causes for Mia's psychosis had been ruled out. The jury also found that insufficiently robust communication and risk management at the Becton Centre led to an inadequate response to Mia's risk of self-harm.