A 1992 article in
The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology and a 2000 article in
The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology said that multiple cases have been associated with the hogtie or hobble prone restraint position. The
New York Police Department's guidelines, explaining protocols for mitigating in-custody deaths, were published in a 1995
Department of Justice bulletin on "positional asphyxia." The NYPD recommended that, "[a]s soon as the subject is handcuffed, get him off his stomach. Turn him on his side or place him in a seated position." Resuscitation of persons who exhibit
cardiac arrest following restraint has proven to be difficult, according to a 1995 article in
Annals of Emergency Medicine. Even in cases where the subject was in the immediate care of paramedics, resuscitation has failed and the subject has died. A March 1999 article in the
Academic Emergency Medicine journal reported that one group of doctors had presented a method of resuscitation, correcting
acidosis in the blood of the victim, which proved effective in their small scale study. A 2010 article in the
Journal of the Tennessee Medical Association reported a single case of successful resuscitation using "aggressive sedation", "ventilatory assistance" among other interventions but added that "avoiding hobble and prone restraint positions may eliminate some of the problems". In 1997
Annals of Emergency Medicine article reported on a single small laboratory study in which "15 healthy men ages 18 through 40 years" were placed in the "hobble" or "hog-tie" restraint position. Researchers found that the effects of restraint on the breathing and oxygen levels these 15 healthy men, was limited. A 2002 review of the literature published in the
British Journal of Forensic Practice said that restraining a person in a face-down position is likely to cause greater restriction of breathing than restraining a person face-up. A 2008 article in
Medicine, Science and the Law said that the way the subject is restrained can also increase the risk of death, for example kneeling or otherwise placing weight on the subject and particularly any type of restraint hold around the subject's neck. Research measuring the effect of restraint positions on lung function suggests that restraint which involves bending the restrained person or placing body weight on them has more effect on their breathing than face-down positioning alone. In the United States, there were 16 reported deaths in police custody between 1998 and 2009 in which restraint was a "direct or contributory factor to the death." The investigation into the deaths resulted in a 2010 report tabled by the
Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Prolonged (particularly resisted) restraint, obesity, prior cardiac or respiratory problems, and the use of illicit drugs such as cocaine can increase the risk of death by restraint, according to a 2001 article in
American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Positional asphyxia is not limited to restraint in a face down position according to a 2011 article in
Medicine, Science, and the Law. Restraining a person in a seated position may also reduce the ability to breathe, if the person is pushed forwards with the chest on or close to the knees. The risk will be higher in cases where the restrained person has a high
body mass index (BMI) and/or large waist girth. A 2012 series by the
Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reported that, since the late 1990s, coroners used the term
excited delirium to explain restraint-related deaths involving police officers. A May 1997 article in said that deaths in real life situations occur after
excited delirium, which had not been studied in laboratory simulations at that time. ==Accident or illness==