SF Missing hospital patient death autopsy results..

[Jesus Malverde]

Dehydration, delirium cited in Lynne Spalding's death

The San Francisco General Hospital patient who vanished from her bed and was later found dead in a hospital stairwell succumbed to a lethal combination of apparent dehydration and liver problems related to chronic alcoholism, the city medical examiner said Friday.

The autopsy report for 57-year-old Lynne Spalding, who disappeared 17 days before her body was discovered in the little-used stairwell near her room on Oct. 8, does not reveal exactly when she died, saying only that she "was deceased for some days before being found."

But it ruled out foul play. The manner of death was listed as an "accident."

The cause of death was listed as a "probable electrolyte imbalance with delirium" because of "complications of chronic ethanolism." Experts said electrolyte imbalance can be brought on by a lack of water or liver problems, or both.

The medical examiner said Spalding's body showed no signs of head wounds or other trauma that would have caused her to lose consciousness.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dehydration-delirium-cited-in-Lynne-Spalding-s-5063065.php

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. may she rest in peace