| Institution: | 1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan;2. Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
Education and Research Center of Legal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-8670 Japan |
| Abstract: | We report a fatal case of airway obstruction caused by spontaneous retropharyngeal hematoma (RH) in the setting of treatment with dipyridamole. A 90-year-old woman presented with cervical swelling, neck and chest ecchymoses, and complaints of dyspnea. She suffered cardiopulmonary arrest in the ambulance, and her death was confirmed after transportation to the hospital. The major finding of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) prior to autopsy was widening of the prevertebral soft tissue. The results of the autopsy indicated that the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia, secondary to pharyngeal and laryngeal compression caused by the RH. There were no evident injuries, medical interventions, or particular diseases, suggesting the spontaneous cause of the RH. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a fatal case secondary to spontaneous RH that was revealed through PMCT imaging. |
