1/68. Sudden death in an infant caused by rupture of a basilar artery aneurysm.Ruptured aneurysms of the cerebrovasculature in infancy and early childhood, except for "giant" aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations, are rare. seizures, loss of consciousness, and apnea are the usual presenting signs in infancy; symptoms such as headache or visual disturbances and signs such as cranial nerve compression or meningeal irritation commonly found in older children or adults are absent in infants. However, the morphologic findings (i.e., subarachnoid and retinal hemorrhage, and occasionally subdural hemorrhage) may be mistaken for inflicted trauma, especially if the aneurysm is not identified. Sudden death caused by rupture of a cerebral aneurysm has not been previously described in an infant. This report outlines the investigation and autopsy findings in a 7-month-old infant who died unexpectedly as a result of rupture of a complex basilar artery aneurysm.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/68. Sudden death from massive pulmonary tumor embolism due to hepatocellular carcinoma.Massive pulmonary embolism in cancer patients can be due to detached thrombi or tumor. Pulmonary tumor embolism is often undiagnosed antemortem. We report a 52-year-old Chinese man admitted for management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Computerized tomography showed tumor involvement of hepatic vein and inferior vena cava. He died suddenly on the day of admission. At autopsy the main pulmonary arteries of both lungs were blocked by large tumor emboli, the immediate cause of death. Although rapid death in patients with HCC is usually caused by intraperitoneal hemorrhage from spontaneous rupture of tumor, massive pulmonary tumor embolism should also be considered in these patients, especially when antemortem evidence of hepatic vein and/or inferior vena cava invasion is present.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/68. Post-traumatic left ventricular false aneurysm.Most false aneurysms of the heart represent contained ventricular free wall ruptures after myocardial infarction. Post-traumatic aneurysms also may follow penetrating or non-penetrating trauma to the chest. Regardless of the origin of the false aneurysm there is a propensity for aneurysm rupture. We report a patient who developed a false aneurysm of her left ventricle that developed post-motor vehicle accident. Her orthopedic problems were the clinical problems identified and after a hospital admission of 10 days she was discharged home. Four weeks later she died suddenly from anterior left ventricle false aneurysm rupture and tamponaide. patients with significant chest wall trauma should be assessed for cardiac pathology prior to discharge. Presentation may be delayed and be overshadowed by more evident pathology. Trauma-related aneurysms may cause sudden death, and this may occur some later time after the trauma. Attributing the cause of death to the trauma, which may be remote, is important for the forensic investigator to remember.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/68. Death related to coronary artery fistula after rupture of an aneurysm to the coronary sinus.Large coronary fistulas are considered to cause myocardial ischemia due to diversion of the coronary blood flow. In this case the authors report the reverse effect--the spontaneous closure of a large fistulation between the left circumflex artery and the coronary sinus evoked angina pectoris in a middle aged man, who died several years later. Postmortem examination revealed a coronary aneurysm that had ruptured and dissected into the coronary sinus and finally thrombosed. The origin of the aneurysm could be congenital but perhaps also represents a healed stage of Kawasaki disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/68. Sudden death due to rupture of an omental metastatic tumor arising from cardiac angiosarcoma. A case report.A 32-year-old man underwent surgical excision of a malignant hemangioendothelioma of the heart and received multidisciplinary treatment. Thirty-three months later, he underwent a second surgical treatment for a recurrent tumor of the posterior chest wall of the right thorax. Five months after this surgery (thirty-eight months after the initial surgery), a second recurrent tumor in the right thorax developed. Although radiotherapy and recombinant interleukin-2 were administered, anemia of unknown origin (hemoglobin 6.7 g/dl) developed. The patient died of sudden shock due to a rupture of an omental metastatic tumor. The patient survived for 41 months after the first surgical resection. We present this case because it is the first reported case of sudden death due to bleeding from an omental metastatic tumor, and because our patient was the second-longest survivor after surgical treatment for cardiac angiosarcoma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.83333333333333keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/68. Sudden death caused by tension pneumothorax after rupture of a thoracic aortic aneurysm. Case report.A rare case of fatal tension pneumothorax is reported. An aged Japanese man with marked subcutaneous emphysema of the neck was found collapsed in a betting office. He was ascertained to have left tension pneumothorax, based on radiographic examinations carried out before his death. At autopsy, severe pneumomediastinum was observed, and the descending thoracic aorta with a ruptured dissecting aneurysm was closely adhered to the left lung pleura. The hemorrhage spread into the pulmonary parenchyma and finally spouted out from the surface of the lung apex. Because the blood loss itself was not fatal in quantity, it is concluded that the patient died of tension pneumothorax caused by a lung penetration from the rupture of an aortic aneurysm.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/68. Mountain medical mystery. Unwitnessed death of a healthy young man, caused by lightning.A healthy 20-year-old man failed to return home after a jog in the colorado mountains. His lifeless body was found the next day on an exposed mountain slope. The differential diagnosis in such mysterious, unwitnessed mountain deaths includes cardiac arrhythmia, cerebral hemorrhage, pulmonary embolism, seizures, trauma, high-altitude sickness, and hypothermia. The cause of death in this case was established on postmortem examination. The findings of ruptured tympanic membranes and a melted shoe established this as a case of lightning strike fatality. The National lightning Detection Network can be a valuable resource to investigators by providing information on the location and date of lightning strikes in the vicinity of the victim.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/68. Sudden death due to rupture of the arteria pancreatica magna: a complication of an immature pseudocyst in chronic pancreatitis.Massive haemorrhage due to rupture of single pancreatic or peripancreatic vessels is a very rare but potentially lethal complication of acute and chronic pancreatitis. The splenic, gastroduodenal, and pancreatoduodenal arteries are the more commonly involved vessels, and rupture occurs mostly as a complication of large mature pseudocysts. We report a sudden death due to massive bleeding caused by rupture of the great pancreatic artery (arteria pancreatica magna), a complication of a small immature pseudocyst, in a 49-year-old male alcoholic with inactive chronic pancreatitis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.1666666666667keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/68. An autopsy case of sudden death in renal transplant recipient.Few autopsy cases of sudden death in renal transplant recipients have been reported in the literature. The present case was a 50-year-old female recipient of a living-related renal transplant, who died suddenly after a good post-transplant course of 14 years. The patient was admitted in December 2000 for detailed investigation for ascites, and died unexpectedly 1 month later. She complained of mild dyspnoea approximately 3 h before death. Detailed clinical and laboratory investigations after admission showed no malignant findings in the abdominal cavity. Postmortem pathological examination also showed no tumour in the abdominal cavity. Both lungs were pneumatized. Histopathological examinations revealed metastatic calcification. Calcification was observed in the heart, lungs, kidney graft and pancreas. Calcification in the heart was found in the central fibrous body surrounding the atrioventricular node and bundle of his, as well as in the origin of bifurcating bundle. In the myocardial fibres, fibre rupture and waviness were observed. Although these findings may indicate agonal changes, they might also be a consequence of sudden cardiac death. This patient was in a state of renal failure, which presumably caused metastatic calcification involving also the cardiac conduction system. This calcification might partially account for the sudden death.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/68. Sudden and unexpected death resulting from splenic artery aneurysm rupture: two case reports of pregnancy-related fatal rupture of splenic artery aneurysm.rupture of a splenic artery aneurysm is a rare and usually catastrophic event, most commonly associated with pregnancy. In spite of increasingly common reliance on abdominal angiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computerized tomography during the past quarter century, clinicians uncommonly recognize any of the various splanchnic arterial aneurysms absent premonitory signs or symptoms. Accordingly, rupture of a visceral aneurysm, including splenic artery aneurysm, typically presents as sudden, unexpected obtundation or death. As a consequence, the initial recognition and diagnosis of splenic artery aneurysm rupture take place only at autopsy. This report presents two such cases of sudden death resulting from splenic artery aneurysm in a pregnant woman and a postpartum woman, respectively.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.6666666666667keywords = rupture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
| | Next -> |