Three postmortem case reports of the excited delirium syndrome - A short comparison.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the work is to show and compare three reported cases of Excited Delirium Syndrome, which happened in Warsaw, Poland, from 2013 to 2017. We compared the results of three autopsy and toxicological findings of unexpectedly deceased males and the circumstances of their death, based on the police records.

RESULTS

There were no significant findings of chronic diseases or multiple traumas leading us to the clear explanation of cause of death. We noted a rapid cardiopulmonary failure accompanied by drug abuse in all three cases, that happened following a stressful stimulus, evoked by a police restraint in prone position. All patients resembled similar external characteristics and BMI and had used drugs before death.

CONCLUSION

A lack of the autopsy findings suggests the Excited Delirium Syndrome as a cause of death. The syndrome may be diagnosed after death, following the definition of exclusion of other somatic causes of death, preceded by symptoms during a stressful event. The syndrome occurs in overweight males, abusing especially stimulants. The physical restraint plays an important role in the initiation of the symptoms. The pathophysiology of the syndrome is poorly understood, but some theories underline dopamine transporters stimulation. To this day, there are no published Excited Delirium guidelines for forensic specialists or pathologists.