[Post-mortem diagnosis of diabetic crisis in the presence of suspicious findings at the scene].

In Germany, approximately 8 million people suffer from diabetes mellitus, of which over 90% have type 2 diabetes. Worldwide, there are around 246 million people with diabetes mellitus. As diabetes is often symptomless for a long time, around 2.5% of the population have diabetes without knowing it. Diabetic coma is a life-threatening complication, which affects up to 1.2% of all diabetics annually and is associated with a mortality rate of 20-25%. Since in 25% of patients the diabetic coma is the first manifestation of the disease, a valid post-mortem biochemical method for the diagnosis of the metabolic crisis is very important. The article presents cases from the authors' own autopsy material showing that the analysis of the vitreous humour is indispensable for the reconstruction of the events leading to death even in cases in which the cause of death is seemingly clear.