Excited Delirium Syndrome and Conducted Electrical Weapons

Abstract

Excited delirium syndrome (ExDS) is defined as delirium coupled with extreme agitation (Vilke et al., 2012). ExDS is a bona fide medical condition that requires immediate medical attention, as 8% of patients will die from it. Some research only classifies ExDS as true ExDS if the subject dies; most research does not and this research does not wish to exclude the 92% of ExDS cases where the subject does not die. ExDS is well known because it oftentimes comes into play during and after a violent encounter with law enforcement. Because over 7,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies use TASER© brand conducted electrical weapons (CEW), many of these violent encounters involve some application of the TASER (TASER International, 2014). Due to the fact that some people struggle with law enforcement, have a TASER applied to them, and later experience ExDS symptoms, there is a rush to associate TASER application with ExDS. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if there is a relationship between the application of a TASER and a later onset of ExDS