"HOW DOES PROLONGED STARVATION INFLUENCE FATAL KETOACIDOSIS IN DIABETIC PATIENTS? INSIGHTS FROM AUTOPSY CASE STUDY" | ||||
| The Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences and Applied Toxicology | ||||
| Volume 24, Issue 3, September 2024, Page 43-52 PDF (2.05 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Case Reports | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejfsat.2024.305273.1337 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
Nancy Mohamed Zaghloul   1; Nora fawzy Fnon2; Mahmoud kamal Mohammed3
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| 1Forensic medicine and clinical toxicology department Misr University for Science and Technology | ||||
| 2Forensic pathology department - forensic medicine authority, Minister of justice, Egypt | ||||
| 3Member of the Technical Office, Forensic Physician, Forensic Medicine authority, ministry of justice ,Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Background: Voluntary starvation is a rare cause of death. Full understanding of how comorbidities interact is crucial for characterizing the pathological cascades of death. In the present case, we discuss and illustrate the intertwined relationship between prolonged starvation and diabetes mellitus (DM), with a focus on the psychological aspects and the complexity of food strikes as a method of suicide. Case Presentation: A 49-year-old male voluntarily withheld food but consumed juices for almost two years. He was admitted to the hospital due to altered consciousness, blood acidosis, and died within 48 hours from the insulin treatment initiation. Postmortem vitreous analysis detected diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with glucose level of 325 mg/dl which surpassed the fatal level of > 234 mg/dl. Prolonged fasting was accompanied by insulin deficiency and insulin resistance which was not reversed by treatment at hospital. Conclusion: Lack of other pathological or toxicological findings suggests that the fatal DKA was the cause of death. Hence, starvation condition might have aggravated the diabetic state and the insulin resistance. The cardiac arrest was consistent with arrhythmia secondary to profound electrolytes disturbance associated with severe DKA non-responsive to insulin therapy with short duration from presentation to death. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Forensic pathology; starvation deaths; intentional fasting; diabetes mellitus; starvation-induced insulin resistance; hyperglycemic ketoacidosis | ||||
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