Thursday 3 November 2011

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues:What is hide and die syndrome?


• There is a peculiar aspect to some cases of hypothermic deaths in that it is associated with the victim undressing and hiding away from sight. The subject is usually an old person, man or woman.
• The person is usually found dead at home partly or even completely without clothing even in winter or in a cold environment. The victim may have burrowed his or her way into some corner or cupboard or alternatively pulled down furniture or household article into the body.
• The house may be in such a situation of disorder that when police break in and find a dead body among such a chaos, they may naturally suspect a case of robbery and murder.
• The sign of hypothermia is usually present during autopsy.
• There is variation in the adrenaline/noradrenaline ratio, a manifestation of stress induced by low temperature along with other biomedical markers of hypothermia.

(Contributed by Dr Sudhir Gupta)


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