This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

A fit and healthy teenage rugby player died 12 hours after taking treatment for acne, a coroner said today.

Recording a narrative verdict, Mary Hassell said Shaun Jones, 14, died "as a result of complications of medical treatment".

Shaun, who was described by his mother as "vain" about his appearance, saw his doctor about spots on his back and shoulders after learning his friends had been given medication to deal with similar problems.

The 6ft schoolboy, of Rhydyfelin, near Pontypridd in South Wales, who had previously used Clearasil to treat the spots, was diagnosed with mild acne and given a prescription, Cardiff coroner's court heard.

When he went to his local pharmacy with his mother Clare, he was told the drug was out of stock. Shaun and his mother were informed that the pharmacist had spoken to the doctor, and he could be given different tablets which were the same as the other medication.

Mrs Jones noticed there was no safety leaflet included in the box, but thought nothing of it at the time.

Shaun took the medication with a glass of water just before going to bed at 10.30pm on 20 October last year. Little more than an hour later, he complained to his parents of shortness of breath and tightness in his chest.

Mrs Jones initially contacted an out-of-hours GP service but was told no doctor was available. When Shaun's condition deteriorated, he was taken to the Royal Glamorgan hospital, Llantrisant, by ambulance in the early hours of the next morning.

Despite treatment there, and at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, where he was transferred, Shaun died at 10.40am the following day.

Doctors at the University Hospital of Wales believe an "idiosyncratic reaction" to the acne medication could have caused his death.

Hassell said she would write a report to the lord chancellor's office underlining the importance that "doctors prescribe drugs and doctors make amendments and patients receive drugs with the correct information attached".