Forensic Confirmation Bias: Asthma as a Cause of Death Sharma Shivpriya1,*, Shukla Mayank2 1Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, India 2Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, India *Corresponding Author, Dr. Shivpriya Sharma, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, India, E-mail: shivpriya.sharma@sharda.ac.in
Online Published on 12 January, 2024. Abstract Sudden death in asthmatic patient is classified as a type II death. Type I being when patient is comatose and exhausted after prolonged status asthmatics. Type II occurs unexpectedly and much more suddenly, and not mainly during a severe asthmatic attack. It is less widely known than Type I. Since the development of inhaled corticosteroid therapy in recent decades, asthma-related mortality has decreased globally. Nevertheless, Asthma deaths are reported, mainly in populations with limited access to regular care. Pub Med, ISI, Web of science, Google Scholar, Scopus and Allied Health literature (CINAHL). Were searched for relevant studies. In this literature only those studies were included which highlighted the cause of death in Asthmatic Patients through a forensic investigation/autopsy report. Some pathological conditions which are related to the death of asthmatic patients such as — (a) pulmonary interstitial emphysema caused by alveolar rupture been mentioned as a side -effect of an acute severe asthma episode;(b) anaphylactic shock history of asthma is suggestive of susceptibility to immunologic reactions; and (c) toxicity to opioids, etc. and it might be challenging to identify them in pathological investigation. Many research findings showed a correlation between sudden death in asthmatic patients and pathological conditions. We specifically explored histopathological forensic aspects pertaining to it. This focused literature review highlighted the causes of death in asthmatic patients on the basis of phenomenological and morphological features during the autopsy investigation. Top Keywords Asthma, Autopsy, Sudden death, Fatal asthma. Top |