KOZHIKODE: The postmortem examination of Shanid Saleem, 28, who died after swallowing a packet of MDMA to escape from the police in Thamarassery on Saturday, confirmed overdose as the cause of death. Thamarassery DySP K Susheer said the postmortem held at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (MCH) on Sunday revealed he Shanid swallowed a packet containing 9g of ganja and another having MDMA in liquid form. The packet of MDMA was found torn, while the other was intact, he said.
Experts said MDMA overdose leads to multiple organ failure within hours and finally, death. Also, there is no antidote for its overdose, they said. “Upon MDMA overdose, what follows is a complex and dangerous health issue. MDMA, a synthetic drug, is a nervous system stimulant and is used to feel more energetic and alert. Even a limited quantity of MDMA will increase the heart rate and blood pressure, cause wakefulness and sweating and hike the body temperature,” said Dr Suresh Kumar P N, a psychiatrist from Kozhikode.
He said its overdose will cause the blood pressure to shoot up leading to cerebral haemorrhage. “The heart starts beating very fast, leading to heart failure. And when the body temperature increases abnormally, it affects all organs. MDMA overdose may also lead to seizure and drop in sodium level,” Dr Suresh said, adding that all these factors lead to failure of the brain, heart, kidney and other organs.
“The death rate is high. If a patient who overdosed is brought to the hospital within an hour or two, doctors can do a stomach wash with a universal antidote. However, it can only reduce absorption level; the complexities will continue,” he said.
The Thamarassery DySP said usually, gold smugglers swallow the metal to escape from authoirities. “There is no change to the gold’s form later. However, drug peddlers doing it is dangerous and leads to overdose as in Shanid’s case,” Susheer said.
After he swallowed the drugs, the cops first took Shanid to the Thamarassery taluk hospital and later to the Kozhikode MCH. Though the doctors recommended that the packets be removed through surgery, Shanid refused to sign the consent form as he started showing behavioural changes. He died while the authorities were planning to go ahead with the surgery considering his critical condition. The inquest was held at the MCH in the presence of a magistrate, and the body handed over to relatives after postmortem.