Cause of death of Class 9 boy remains unknown, doctors call for caution

Lucknow, Sep 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) The post mortem examination of the Class 9 student who collapsed in class, could not ascertain the cause of death, police said.

ACP, Aliganj, Ashutosh Kumar, said the viscera of the student, Atif Siddiqui, has been sent to forensic laboratory for further investigation and to ascertain the cause of death.

He said a police team will visit the school and record the statements of teachers and students.

Atif had collapsed in his chemistry class and died instantly on Wednesday. Doctors suspect he died of cardiac arrest.

Meanwhile, the shocking death of the boy has brought into focus congenital diseases, stress levels and proper recovery after severe illness. These are stated to be possible causes for such deaths.

Dr Sanjay Niranjan, state president of the Indian Academy of Paediatricians (IAP) said, "Sudden death can happen to anyone at any age and has been reported among infants too. Then it is known as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or cot death. There are several reasons starting with congenital diseases to adverse impact of severe diseases such as dengue shock syndrome or severe stage of Covid."

"At times, arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat causes fatal damage. If you analyse stress, students are under tremendous pressure to perform and this is one reason for a weak heart," said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary-general, Association of International Doctors.

In Lucknow, several incidents of sudden deaths occurred in the past.

In November, 2022, a Class 12 student suffered a heart attack while attending school.

In October, 2016, a Class 7 student met with sudden death while in school.

Doctors said that to know if there is any pattern of deaths among such cases, autopsy and related forensic study should be done after death. They said sudden death in the office, school or by the roadside with no medical history should be studied.

"Children after the age of five years understand much about health and life. They should be taught ways to stay healthy and report to parents or school authorities any health issue they encounter suddenly. Since children often hide or ignore illness, schools should conduct weekly sessions on personal health," said Dr Samir Mishra, senior faculty member, King George’s Medical University.

"Not just schools but sudden death cases have been reported from gyms, roadsides and even offices, where people died within minutes. If colleagues are aware of medical history, they can save lives," said Dr Gupta.

Source: IANS