In 2014, The Daily Mail reported on 39-year-old British woman Kate Allatt, who had locked-in syndrome. In locked-in syndrome, a patient is aware of their surroundings, but they experience complete paralysis of voluntary muscles, with the exception of muscles that control eye movement. The condition may arise as a symptom of neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. “The whole circulation would have stopped but the neurological condition of the child could be protected by the cold.”Ĭatalepsy and locked-in syndrome are examples of other conditions in which the living could be mistaken for dead.Ĭatalepsy is characterized by a trance-like state, slowed breathing, reduced sensitivity, and complete immobility, which can last from minutes to weeks. Michael Klein, of the University of British Columbia in Canada, said that the baby’s exposure to such cold temperatures may explain the situation. Two hours later, the baby started moving.ĭr. Doctors were unable to detect a pulse, and the baby was declared dead. The baby in question was born on a sidewalk in freezing cold temperatures. Share on Pinterest There are a number of conditions in which a patient might ‘appear’ to be deceased.
There are a number of medical conditions that can make an individual “appear” dead. Looking at these definitions, you might assume that it would be easy to tell when a person is deceased – but in some cases, it is not so simple. Clinical death is defined as the absence of a pulse, heartbeat, and breathing, while biological death is defined as the absence of brain activity.
There are two types of death: clinical death and biological death. The woman awoke shortly after being taken to the operating room for organ harvesting.Ĭases such as these beg the question, how is it even possible to mistakingly declare a person as dead? In the same year, a New York Hospital came under fire after incorrectly declaring a woman as brain dead following a drug overdose. In 2014 came a report of an 80-year-old woman who had been “frozen alive” in a hospital morgue after being wrongly pronounced dead. Hyperkalemia – whereby blood levels of potassium are too high – is another proposed explanation for the Lazarus phenomenon, as it has been linked to delayed ROSC.īecause so few cases of Lazarus syndrome are reported, uncovering the exact mechanisms behind the condition is tricky.īut perhaps it is not what is bringing a patient back to life that we should be concerned about maybe they were never deceased.Īs Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” In a clinical setting, however, a declaration of death is not as certain as one might think. “It is possible that drugs injected through a peripheral vein are inadequately delivered centrally due to impaired venous return, and when venous return improves after stopping the dynamic hyperinflation, delivery of drugs could contribute to return of circulation,” explain Adhiyaman and colleagues. Once CPR is ceased, this pressure may gradually release and kick-start the heart back into action.Īnother theory is the delayed action of medication used as a part of resuscitation efforts, such as adrenaline. Some researchers suggest that the Lazarus phenomenon may be down to a pressure buildup in the chest caused by CPR. Precisely what causes the Lazarus phenomenon remains unclear, but there are some theories. “Another pertinent question that arises is whether the death of a particular patient occurred as a result of premature cessation of resuscitative efforts or the omission of continued resuscitation,” he adds.
WORLD RECORD FOR DYING AND COMING BACK TO LIFE PROFESSIONAL
“The professional expertise of the resuscitating doctor can be brought into question, not to mention the fact that such an event can lead to disrepute among colleagues.” “The reason for these can be attributed to the fact that medicolegal issues are brought to light in cases which are pronounced dead which later turn out to have been alive,” he explains. “The Lazarus phenomenon is a grossly underreported event,” notes Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr. Since 1982, when the Lazarus phenomenon was first described in medical literature, there have been at least 38 reported cases.Īccording to a 2007 report by Vedamurthy Adhiyaman and colleagues, in around 82 percent of Lazarus syndrome cases to date, ROSC occurred within 10 minutes of CPR being stopped, and around 45 percent of patients experienced good neurological recovery.īut while the low number of report cases might highlight the rarity of Lazarus syndrome, scientists believe that it is much more common than studies suggest. Share on Pinterest Lazarus syndrome is the return of spontaneous circulation after CPR has been stopped.
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