A corpse found in cold air with marked laryngeal angioedema

One winter's morning, a 36-year-old woman was found lying near the seaside. She had attended a mental clinic for many years and had attempted suicide by cutting her wrist 10 days prior to her death. At autopsy, death from hypothermia was ruled out. Several psychotropic drugs were detected in the serum. Some of them were barbiturates and bromvalerylurea, and the serum levels of these drugs were found to be therapeutic. Marked mucosal edema was found in the laryngeal region, therefore the cause of her death was credited to asphyxia due to airway obstruction. Many factors can induce angioedema, such as some types of allergens, drugs, food, or physical stilumi, however, we failed to explain the etiology of the decedent's angioedema.