Rapidly growing internal carotid artery aneurysm after amphetamine abuse: case report

Amphetamine is one of the most common illicitly abused drugs in certain countries. It is a potent sympathomimetic that may lead to vascular events, including stroke and myocardial infarction. Most reports of stroke after amphetamine abuse are of intracerebral hemorrhage. In this report, the authors describe a ruptured aneurysm of the right internal carotid artery in a young man with amphetamine abuse. It grew rapidly within 2 weeks. Surgery revealed fibrosis and fibrinoid necrosis around the aneurysm. The aneurysm was successfully embolized with Guglielmi detachable coil. A rapidly growing aneurysm in the major intracranial vessels resulting from amphetamine abuse is very rare.     

Occlusion of left and right coronary arteries and coronary sinus following blunt chest trauma

Blunt chest trauma from rapid automobile airbag deployment causing coronary artery occlusion and myocardial infarction is a rare but potentially fatal condition. We present the case of a 37-year-old man who developed extensive anterior and inferior myocardial infarction because of occlusion of both left anterior and right coronary arteries following blunt injury to the chest in a car accident. The patient was scheduled for emergency coronary angiography but left and right coronary ostia were not cannulated because of thrombus formation probably. The patient died, and the autopsy revealed external compression by epicardial hematomas involving separately left and right coronary arteries and the coronary sinus without signs of coronary and/or aortic dissection. To our knowledge, this is the first case presenting occlusion of both coronary arteries secondary to blunt chest trauma causing acute myocardial infarction in a young man without signs of prior coronary artery disease.     

Influenza A/H1N1 (2009) Infection as a Cause of Unexpected Out‐of‐Hospital Death in the Young*

Abstract: In March 2009, a new strain of influenza A/H1N1 virus was identified in Mexico, responsible for a pandemic. Worldwide, more than 13,500 patients died, most often from acute respiratory distress syndrome. Because sudden death cases were rare, involving mostly young apparently healthy persons, influenza A/H1N1 (2009)‐related deaths may be misdiagnosed, which can raise medico‐legal issues. Case history: we report on an unexpected out‐of‐hospital death involving a young male with no past medical history and no vaccination. Fever was his only symptom. Laboratory tests: histology showed patchy necrotic foci with mononuclear inflammation in the lungs. The heart was histologically normal, but virological analyses using molecular biology on frozen myocardial samples showed high virus load. In conclusion, this case report shows that influenza A/H1N1 (2009) virus can be a cause of sudden cardiac death in the young and demonstrates the importance of quantitative virological analyses for the diagnosis of myocarditis.     

缺血修饰白蛋白在急性缺血性心脏病中的法医学应用

目的探讨心包液中缺血修饰白蛋白(ischemia modified albumin,IMA)水平在心脏性猝死诊断中的应用价值及法医学意义。方法应用白蛋白-钴离子结合法检测急性缺血性心脏病组(36例)、急性心肌梗死组(6例)、心肌病组(4例)、对照组(15例)死者的心包液中IMA水平,比较各组之间IMA水平的差异。通过ROC曲线获得最佳IMA水平的截断值以及区分急性缺血性心脏病和对照组的敏感度和特异度。结果急性缺血性心脏病组心包液中IMA水平高于对照组(P0.05);而与急性心肌梗死组、心肌病组心包液中IMA水平比较,差异均无统计学意义(P0.05)。应用ROC曲线分析得出识别急性心肌缺血的IMA的截断值为40.65 U/m L,其诊断急性心肌缺血的敏感度为60.0%,特异度为80.5%。结论心包液中IMA有望作为诊断急性心肌缺血的参考指标,为心脏性猝死的法医学诊断提供客观依据。     

Anomalous Anterior Papillary Muscle as an Autopsy Finding in Two Cases

Anomaly in the anterior papillary muscle (APM) is known to cause left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, and this rare congenital condition could be a cause of sudden cardiac death. This anomaly and its hemodynamic effects is similar to valvular heart disease. In our two described cases, in which cause of death was, respectively, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and suicide by hanging, the cephalad portion of the left APM was inserted directly into the ventricular surface of the anterior mitral leaflet and chordae tendineae were absent in the area of the direct anomalous muscle insertion; the aberrant papillary muscle was very large and showed an exaggerated anterior displacement within the left ventricular cavity. The described anomaly is a cause of LVOT obstruction. This condition is considered to be rare, although incidence estimates do not exist. In the absence of other possible causes, this finding may indicate arrhythmia as being the immediate cause of death.     

Sudden Cardiac Death in a Young Man with Migraine-associated Arrhythmia

A 31-year-old man with migraine-induced syncope and bradycardia with subsequent pacemaker implantation died unexpectedly. Clinically unsuspected cardiac anomalies were found at autopsy including myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending artery and shelf-like coronary artery ostia. Nortriptyline was identified by toxicologic analysis. A review of the autopsy findings, the historical information, and the effects of the possible arrhythmogenic circumstances is undertaken and the potential contributions to the death are discussed. Cardiac arrhythmias have been documented during migraines. Coronary artery bridging has been known to lead to ischemia and infarction, ventricular tachycardia, and sudden death; however, these are very rare sequelae. Congenital coronary artery anomalies have been linked to sudden cardiac death, but only rarely cause death in people younger than 31 years. Migraines and the autopsy findings described have been associated with cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death. Altogether, they led to the unexpected death of this young man.     

Presence of psychoactive substances in oral fluid from randomly selected drivers in Denmark

The aim of this investigation was to identify and characterise pathogenic mutations in a sudden cardiac death (SCD) cohort suspected of cardiomyopathy in persons aged 0-40 years. The study material for the genetic screening of cardiomyopathies consisted of 41 cases and was selected from the case database at the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Mutational screening by DNA sequencing was performed to detect mutations in DNA samples from deceased persons suspected of suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and arrhythmogenic right ventricle cardiomyopathy (ARVC). A total of 9 of the examined 41 cases had a rare sequence variant in the MYBPC3, MYH7, LMNA, PKP2 or TMEM43 genes, of which 4 cases (9.8%) were presumed to be pathogenic mutations. The presumed pathogenic mutations were distributed with one case of suspected HCM and DCM (MYH7; p.R442H), one case of suspected DCM (LMNA; p.R471H), and two cases of suspected ARVC (PKP2; p.R79X and LMNA; p.R644C). The presented data adds important information on the genetic elements of SCD in the young, and calls for expert pathological evaluation and molecular autopsy in the post-mortem examination of SCD victims with structural anomalies of the heart.     

Fatal occupational inhalation of hydrogen sulfide

A young man aged 22 years, a sewer worker by profession, died after massive inhalation of hydrogen sulfide while at work. He was rescued by the emergency services and admitted to the critical care department, where he died due to massive myocardial necrosis less than 24 h after admission. In this case, where the causes of the accident were not clearly established, autopsy and anatomopathologic examination made it possible to confirm the causal lesions which resulted in death and to question the initial version of the circumstances of the accident. Medicolegal investigation was valuable in determining possible liabilities and repercussions on coverage as an industrial accident by the national health insurance system.     

Sudden death after a cold drink: case report

We report a case of sudden cardiac death in a 12-year-old boy after rapid ingestion of a frozen slurry drink. The cause of death was determined to be a cardiac arrhythmia secondary to a previously undiagnosed cardiac rhabdomyoma with associated myocardial scarring. Ingestion of cold liquids has been associated with syncope, but not sudden cardiac death. In this case, bradycardia induced by cold-induced vasovagal reflex may have precipitated the terminal arrhythmia. Ingestion of cold liquids should be considered a potential trigger for fatal cardiac arrhythmias in patients with underlying heart disease.     

Relationship of ischemic heart disease to sudden death

A clinicopathological synthesis is presented of the relationship of ischemic heart disease to sudden cardiac death. The immediate pathophysiological process responsible for sudden cardiac death is a lethal arrhythmia, usually ventricular fibrillation. Although significant coronary atherosclerosis is present in most cases of naturally occurring sudden death, available evidence indicates that several mechanisms can be operative in the pathogenesis of the fatal event. These are (1) acute myocardial infarction in a minority of cases; (2) myocardial ischemia, without infarction, which is initiated either by (a) an exertion-induced increase in myocardial oxygen demand or (b) an acute coronary event often involving plaque degeneration and platelet aggregation; and (3) a primary arrhythmia, usually resulting from altered electrical conduction in the setting of a previous myocardial infarction.     

Undiagnosed, untreated acute lymphoblastic leukemia presenting as suspected child abuse

Natural disease being mistaken for child abuse is rare. A two-year-old child was found unresponsive at home and transported to a local hospital, where she expired in the emergency room. Several cutaneous contusions were observed. Prior to the autopsy it was learned that an anonymous report of "child abuse" had been previously filed concerning this child. At autopsy there were multiple metasynchronous cutaneous contusions, but no radiologic or gross evidence of other injuries. A pericardial effusion, massive hepatosplenomegaly and generalized lymphadenopathy were apparent. The bone marrow, liver, spleen, lymph nodes, kidneys, pancreas, heart, stomach, and dura mater showed a monotonous lymphocytic infiltrate. Immunocytochemical studies confirmed the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia of childhood. This case reaffirms the need for an objective examination of all cases by a forensic pathologist.     

Cardiac β1-adrenoceptor expression in two stress-induced cardiomyopathy-related deaths

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SICM) is characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of the apical and/or midventricular myocardial segments in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease and is unique in that it can manifest itself after acute emotional stress. Excessive amounts of catecholamines released from sympathetic nerve endings as well as from the adrenal medulla under stressful conditions are considered to produce intracellular Ca(2+) overload and cardiac dysfunction through the β(1)-adrenoceptor signal transduction pathway. We describe the clinical and pathomorphological findings in two stress-induced cardiomyopathy fatal cases. Levels of catecholamines and their metabolites in urine samples were assessed too. Morphological patterns seen in SICM result from the complex interplay between sympathetic innervations, β-receptor density and function and catecholamine sensitivity.     

Diagnostic role of acute microscopic changes in myocardium

Forensic medical diagnosis of death from coronary heart disease, acute ethanol poisoning, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, closed cardiac injuries, mechanical injuries incompatible with life which may be directly caused by acute cardiac failure, requires identification and evaluation of diagnostic complexes of acute myocardial changes. The diagnostic significance of such complexes of myocardial changes is characterized for the first time. A method for evaluation of such changes, addressed to expert histologists, is presented.     

Sudden cardiac death and right ventricular dysplasia.

Right ventricular cardiomyopathy dysplasia, now a well-established clinical and morphologic entity, was first reported in the medical literature in 1982. The cases of sudden death of two young men are here reported, with macroscopic and histologic findings. The anatomical explanation of such death was a fibrotic, lipomatous, or fibrolipomatous replacement and infiltration of the myocardium of the right ventricle. It is suggested that death due to right ventricular cardiomyopathy seems to be the result of electrical instability of right ventricular myocardium. There were no congenital malformations such as septal defect or valvular deformity. The subjects' heart weights were normal. Signs of myocardial degeneration and necrosis with or without inflammatory infiltrates were not identified.     

Sudden death of an alcoholic elderly man with acute esophageal necrosis (black esophagus)

We report a fatal case of acute esophageal necrosis (black esophagus) in an elderly male with alcohol abuse who was found dead with coffee-ground vomiting. A postmortem examination revealed severe anemia and marked black coloring of the esophagus from the upper to the bottom end. This was accompanied by histologic evidence of extensive mucosal necrosis. Alcohol abuse and esophagitis-related vomiting were both considered to be factors that led to the acute fatal esophageal necrosis. The cause of death was undetermined. We discuss the possible role of acute esophageal necrosis in the cause of sudden death.     

Giant cell myocarditis with cardiac tamponade: a rare combination

Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is a rare but fatal disease of idiopathic origin. It results in focal necrosis of myocardium. This is a case report of middle aged Malaysian Indian female who died due to cardiac tamponade due to rupture myocardium and tear in the root of aorta. On naked eye examination, it simply resembled as recent as well as old fibrotic areas of myocardial infarction. She was clinically diagnosed as a case of obstructive cardiomyopathy with atrioventricular block, and was on pace maker. There was subendocardial fibrosis and left ventricular transmural infarction in the left ventricle. On histopathology, this was diagnosed as GCM, there were widespread areas of inflammatory cellular infiltration within the myocardium with multinucleated giant cells and granulomas interspersed with lymphocytes. Microscopic field showed up to 10 multinucleated giant cells. In this case, there were focal areas at multiple locations and caused uneven thickness in the left ventricle wall. Idiopathic GCM is very rare and causation of hemopericardium is the unique feature of this case. In this case the direct link of GCM with aortitis and rupture of left ventricle wall resulting in hemopericardium is shown. This case is documented through macroscopic as well as microscopic photographs in H&E, Ziel-Nelson, and GMS staining.     

Effects of the Taser in fatalities involving police confrontation.

Sixteen deaths associated with the use of the Taser were examined. All involved young males who had a history of abuse of controlled substances; all but three were under the influence of cocaine, phencyclidine [phenylcyclohexylpiperidine (PCP)], or amphetamine. All were behaving in a bizarre or unusual fashion which necessitated calling the police. The cause of death was an overdose of drugs in eleven, gunshot wounds in three, heart disease and Taser shock in one, and an undetermined cause in one. All were considered to be under the influence of PCP by the police at the time of the incident. All were unarmed, which was the reason a Taser was used instead of a more lethal weapon. The conclusion reached after evaluation of these cases is that the Taser in and of itself does not cause death, although it may have contributed to death in one case.     

原发性心肌病猝死心肌mtDNA~(4977)缺失变化

目的探讨原发性心肌病(PCM)猝死者心肌线粒体DNA(m tDNA4977)缺失情况及其与猝死的关系。方法对18例PCM猝死和28例对照组病例心肌组织蜡块,用常规方法提取心肌m tDNA,以PCR、琼脂糖紫外凝胶成像技术确定扩增产物激光密度,初步定量检测m tDNA4977缺失率。结果PCM猝死18例中,检见13例m tDNA4977缺失,占72.44%。对照组28例中,检见3例m tDNA4977缺失,占10.71%;两组病例m tDNA4977缺失率均值分别为0.5795和0.0744,差异有非常显著性意义。结论多数PCM,特别是扩张型心肌病猝死者心肌可检见m tDNA4977缺失;提示其心肌m tDNA4977缺失变化与PCM猝死的发生可能有一定关系。     

Sudden death due to a paraganglioma of the organs of Zuckerkandl

A 20-year-old woman died suddenly in a hospital emergency room after presenting with nausea, vomiting, back pain, and hypertension. At autopsy, an extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma (paraganglioma) of the organs of Zuckerkandl was found, with microscopic focal myocardial necrosis similar to that described in death from adrenal pheochromocytomas. Tumors of the organs of Zuckerkandl are extremely rare; less than 100 such cases have been reported in the world's literature, and only six, including the present case, have presented as a sudden, unexpected death. The symptoms of catecholamine storm may mimic those of acute drug intoxications, leading to misdiagnosis by both clinical physicians and pathologists.