As we reported two years ago, Aika Doheny, a 24-year-old woman from Kilkenny, Southeast Ireland, died shortly after drinking a cup of coffee in Japan. Additional details came to light during an inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court last week.
Ms Doheny, a research assistant at the University of Galway while studying for a master’s degree in biomedical science, traveled to Japan on August 18, 2022, to start a new job on September 1. Her mother, Mayumi Doheny, accompanied her to help her move in and provided testimony at the inquest.
Aika suffered from severe eczema, asthma, and allergies to milk, eggs, tree nuts, and fish from an early age, according to her GP. Her mother testified she always carried her epinephrine auto-injector and inhaler with her everywhere.
Aika suffered a severe reaction after drinking a cup of coffee that purportedly contained soy milk which she requested. Feeling ill, she ran into the restroom and was attempting to administer her epinephrine and inhaler when she collapsed.
She was rushed to intensive care at a nearby hospital in Tokyo, where was placed on life support despite efforts to revive her.
Her mother testified that she had received a call around lunchtime that day informing her that her daughter had suffered a severe reaction and was being rushed to the hospital. Sometime later, Ms Doheny received another call informing her that as a result of her daughter’s heart starting and stopping, Aika had passed away.
Ms Doheny said that she arranged to transport Aika — still on life support — back home to St James’s Hospital. There, doctors performed a battery of tests and determined to remove her from life support. Her mother consented, and Aika was officially pronounced dead at 11:02PM on October 20, 2022.
Speaking through an interpreter, Ms Doheny was dubious of the determination by Japanese officials that milk was the trigger of the anaphylaxis that took her daughter’s life. She claimed the girl would instinctively vomit if she consumed dairy and said, “It was very strange that did not happen this time.”
Dr Heidi Okkers, the state pathologist who performed the postmortem, testified that Aika had died from complications of anaphylactic shock, including brain damage from a lack of oxygen, but that she could not confirm the trigger that caused the reaction.
The inquest heard Ms Doheny had seen a large file in a police station in Japan, which initially led her to believe that her daughter had been murdered, but she no longer believed that to be the case. She said police in Japan had told her that they concluded her daughter’s death was an accident.
Returning an open verdict, the coroner stated there was still a lack of some information about Ms Doheny’s death, despite the conclusion by police in Japan that it was accidental.
We were heartbroken by the news two years ago when we first learned of the tragedy that took Aika’s life. Once again, we send our sincere condolences to her family and hope they can achieve some measure of closure with the conclusion of the inquest.
We want to remind our readers that death by anaphylaxis is an exceedingly rare event, but precautions must always be followed.
Although we don’t know the precise details regarding the administration of epinephrine in this tragedy, please understand that it is the only drug that can halt and reverse the progression of anaphylaxis. Epinephrine is your lifeline should the unthinkable happen, so always take two emergency devices along — auto-injectors or nasal sprays — everywhere, every time, and be sure to administer one when you first suspect anaphylaxis.
