Declared dead, an elderly man comes alive

New Delhi, October 11,2018 :

Declared dead by doctors in UP, elderly man comes alive (Dr KK Aggarwal and Advocate Ira Gupta). Doctors at a private Ram Shiva hospital in Kanpur declared a 55-year-old road accident victim Phool Singh dead on Sunday, but he regained senses while being shifted to the mortuary at Lala Lajpat Rai hospital for postmortem on the same day. He was immediately taken back to the hospital by his relatives, where he died while undergoing treatment several hours later on Monday. His kin have filed a complaint to the police, who are investigating the matter.

Quoting Singh’s family, the police said he had sustained critical injuries in a road accident in Fatehpur on Sunday morning and was admitted to Rama Shiv hospital in Kanpur. After preliminary treatment, doctors at the hospital declared Singh dead around 4pm the same day and allegedly issued a death certificate. However, while his body was being shifted to the mortuary, his family members found him ‘breathing’ and informed the doctors who later confirmed that he was alive.

Situations where this can happen

• In extreme hypothermia you can mistake a person is clinically dead while he is not
• Lazarus syndrome also known as autoresuscitation after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at CPR  due to buildup of pressure in the chest as a result of CPR. The relaxation of pressure after resuscitation efforts have ended is thought to allow the heart to expand, triggering the heart’s electrical impulses and restarting the heartbeat. Other possible factors are hyperkalemia or high doses of adrenaline.
• Deep coma mistaken as clinical death
• Apathy in dealing with terminal cases and believing on paramedical staff

The seven biggest mistakes

1. Babies allegedly damaged during birth
2. Spinal surgery outcomes: Even if spinal procedures were “perfectly performed”, there would be no guarantee of an improvement in the quality of life of the patient, and this leads to dissatisfaction and complaints.
3. Consistent appropriateness of dosages administered by anaesthetists
4. ‘Wrong site’ surgery and swabs or other medical equipment being left in the patient’s body
5. Mortality rates of patients with comorbidities
6. Poor bedside manner
7. Billing issues (Businesslive)

Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect CMAAO
President Heart Care Foundation of India