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Daily Mail Online
By Sam Matthew for MailOnline
- Kasey Naylor died on October 8 after being found lifeless in her bed
- The 14-year-old had been prescribed medication not meant for children
- Coroner heard unlicensed drugs are commonly used for youngsters
- Open verdict recorded into the teenager’s death following inquest
- Coroner concludes he cannot say if her death was related to the prescribed drugs
Kasey Naylor died in her sleep after being given adults depression medication.
A troubled teenager died after being given prescription medication which was only meant for adults, an inquest heard.
Kasey Naylor, 14, was found lifeless in bed just weeks after being handed the anti-psychotic drug quetiapine and anti-depressant, sertraline.
Both are unlicensed for use in children, Manchester Coroner’s Court heard, although the consultant psychiatrist who prescribed them said they were ‘commonly used’ to treat youngsters.
Kasey who attended Manchester Creative and Media Academy started to self harm in June 2013 and in September this year she was admitted to hospital after she cut her arm badly and threatened to kill herself.
Dr David Ochando prescribed quetiapine after seeing Kasey at North Manchester General on September 10 last year and agreed to discharge her the next day after she had shown no sign of low blood pressure, a common side-effect.
Quetiapine is an anti-psychotic drug used to treat bipolar and schizophrenia.
When he saw her again nine days later he also prescribed the anti-depressant sertraline as quetiapine is only considered a short-term remedy for emotional problems, the inquest heard.
Sertraline affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause depression, panic, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Although not recommended for patients under 18 years old, the inquest was told by a medical experts that use of such drugs is common and that the risk of death ‘extremely rare.’
Dr Ochando saw her a third time at her home on September 25, when she mentioned she had not been taking sertraline as she ‘didn’t see the point.’
Kasey’s mother Paula Longhorn wept as she told the hearing: ‘She was just my Kasey. She was just everything. She was lovely.’