Acute Pancreatitis Presenting as Sudden, Unexpected Death

Challenges in Diagnosing Sudden Death Caused by Acute Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis: An Autopsy-Based Case Report

Forensic pathologists frequently encounter cases of sudden natural death. Most sudden natural deaths are attributed to cardiac causes. Acute pancreatitis, especially hemorrhagic pancreatitis, is an infrequent yet critical contributor to sudden death. The role of a forensic pathologist is imperative in such cases to find out the cause of the sudden death and to either confirm or refute any allegations. In this context, we describe a case of a 34-year-old male who experienced sudden death due to acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis, highlighting the need for a detailed autopsy, pathophysiological insights, and diagnostic challenges.

Significant ketoacidosis at autopsy: a single-centre systematic review

AIM

To examine the value of vitreous beta-hydroxybutyrate and serum acetone in the investigation of sudden unexpected death.

METHODS

Coroners' autopsy reports from a provincial UK city, with a population of approximately 900 000, over a 24-month period with significant ketoacidosis were studied. Demographic features, medical history, anatomical and histological findings, and biochemical parameters, including renal function, vitreous glucose, serum and vitreous alcohol, were analysed.

RESULTS

Forty-two cases (28 males and 14 females) were identified; 55% had a history of alcohol and/or substance misuse, and mental health problems, particularly depression and anxiety, and 16% were diabetic. In all, 50% of subjects had alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA), 19% had diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and 12% had a history of both diabetes and alcohol abuse. In 19% of cases, an exact cause of ketoacidosis was established. In AKA, the subjects typically had low vitreous glucose and low or undetected blood alcohol levels. All of the subjects with raised vitreous glucose levels had DKA.

CONCLUSION

Ketoacidosis is relatively common and should be considered as a cause of sudden death, especially in alcoholic patients and patients with diabetes with no clear cause of death at autopsy.

Sudden cardiac death in the young: A consensus statement on recommended practices for cardiac examination by pathologists from the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology

Sudden cardiac death is, by definition, an unexpected, untimely death caused by a cardiac condition in a person with known or unknown heart disease. This major international public health problem accounts for approximately 15-20% of all deaths. Typically more common in older adults with acquired heart disease, SCD also can occur in the young where the cause is more likely to be a genetically transmitted process. As these inherited disease processes can affect multiple family members, it is critical that these deaths are appropriately and thoroughly investigated. Across the United States, SCD cases in those less than 40 years of age will often fall under medical examiner/coroner jurisdiction resulting in scene investigation, review of available medical records and a complete autopsy including toxicological and histological studies. To date, there have not been consistent or uniform guidelines for cardiac examination in these cases. In addition, many medical examiner/coroner offices are understaffed and/or underfunded, both of which may hamper specialized examinations or studies (e.g., molecular testing). Use of such guidelines by pathologists in cases of SCD in decedents aged 1-39 years of age could result in life-saving medical intervention for other family members. These recommendations also may provide support for underfunded offices to argue for the significance of this specialized testing. As cardiac examinations in the setting of SCD in the young fall under ME/C jurisdiction, this consensus paper has been developed with members of the Society of Cardiovascular Pathology working with cardiovascular pathology-trained, practicing forensic pathologists.

Sudden death related to the gastrointestinal system in Tunisia: A 13 year autopsy study

Sudden gastrointestinal (GI) death is an unexpected death due to digestive system causes mainly found after autopsy. The literature is rich in articles that studied sudden death due to cardiac causes while sudden GI deaths remain less well-documented. We retrospectively investigated all cases of gastrointestinal death at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Tunis, over 13 years (January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2018). Two hundred and eight cases were collected. The mean age of our series was 51.06 ± 20.99 years. No history of digestive disorders was reported in 78.4%, and no family history of sudden death was found in any cases. A male predominance was found in most epidemiological characteristics of the sample with a significant statistical rate in some features. Non-specific abdominal pain was the most described symptom (n = 92). Perforation of GI tract was the common mechanism involved in the death of 55 cases, of which 44 were related to ulcer perforation. These ulcer perforations were statistically more reported in smokers and people suffering from schizophrenia. Intestinal obstruction was the second commonest cause of death, mainly found in the elderly. Sudden death in children was most frequently caused by acute intussusception. This study highlights that systematic study of sudden death due to GI causes might provide opportunities to identify avenues for overall health improvement.

Sudden Death Due to Acute Pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis can present as sudden, expected death and, therefore, fall under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner/coroner (ME/C). Although its etiologies are varied, alcohol abuse, trauma, and drugs are important to consider in the forensic setting. It is therefore important for the forensic pathologist to have an understanding of these and other etiologies, to have a functional knowledge of the pancreatic anatomy and physiology, and to be able to diagnose acute pancreatitis and distinguish it from postmortem artifact. This review will highlight the forensic aspects of acute pancreatitis, with particular focus on acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. This will include an overview of the developmental anatomy and normal physiology of the pancreas, the various causes of pancreatitis that may result in deaths coming to the attention of the ME/C, the underlying pathophysiology of the disease, the postmortem diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, and ancillary studies that support the diagnosis. Acad Forensic Pathol. 2018 8(2): 239-255.

Severe acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis secondary to cholelithiasis as a rare cause of sudden unexpected death in medico-legal case: A case report

INTRODUCTION

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an uncommon disease with a wide clinical course varying from mild and self-limiting to severe with eventual death. However, death caused by AP is rare. Most cases of AP reported in the English-language literature are based on clinical data; few are medico-legal studies.

CASE PRESENTATION

The author recently experienced a case of sudden unexpected death in a young man caused by extensive severe hemorrhagic AP secondary to cholelithiasis, not chronic alcoholism, which is a much more prominent etiology of AP in medico-legal perspectives. The deceased had complained of dizziness, nausea, and fatigue without significant abdominal pain for about 1 week and received some home medications for symptomatic treatment including an antibiotic drug from a clinic just 2 days prior to his death. He had complained of lower extremity weakness, intense thirst, and subsequently collapsed and was brought to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after his admission following unsuccessful advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts.

CONCLUSION

This case is herein reported with an extensive review of the pertinent literature to highlight the findings of the case and raise awareness within the medico-legal profession and also the medical profession.

How Alcohol Kills: Alcohol-Attributable and Alcohol-Associated Deaths in a Medical Examiner Population

Forensic pathologists frequently encounter the myriad effects of acute and chronic ethanolism and the many ways that alcohol contributes to sudden natural and unnatural deaths. Alcohol may act as risk factor for sudden death or directly participate as a cause of sudden death through its acute and chronic toxic effects. This retrospective descriptive study examines the causes and manner of deaths potentially attributable to alcohol and the results of postmortem toxicology testing for ethanol in unnatural deaths and alcohol-attributable natural deaths over a five-year period in a large medical examiner's office. Ethanol was detected in all types of unnatural deaths as well as alcohol-attributable natural deaths due to the complications of chronic ethanol abuse with a wide range of overlapping concentrations. Of the unnatural deaths involving individuals with a detectable ethanol concentration, 61% were accidents, 25% suicides, and 14% were homicides; ethanol was detected in 40.2% of accidents, 42.0% of suicides, and 53.1% of homicides. Ethanol was also detected in 41% of deaths due to chronic alcoholism. For the unnatural deaths involving intoxicated individuals and deaths due to chronic alcoholism, the deaths were certified as a wide variety of causes. In general, the results are similar to those in the existing literature. Forensic pathologists need to be well-versed in interpreting postmortem ethanol concentrations and determining the role of acute and/or chronic ethanolism in sudden deaths.

Acute Alcohol Toxicity

Acute alcohol (ethanol) toxicity is a definition that encompasses both the metabolic toxicity of alcohol and the association of alcohol with traumatic deaths, suicide, and criminal activities. As with any postmortem measurement, there must be control of postmortem sampling, storage of specimens, and appropriate analysis to ensure that there is not artifactual alcohol production or incorrect measurement of other postmortem alcohols. It is almost unheard of for acute alcohol toxicity to cause death secondary to metabolic effects in a naïve individual, although there has been a recent trend in social media dares that have led to deaths due to isolated episodes of extreme alcohol consumption. However, in most cases, there will be evidence for chronic alcohol misuse at the postmortem examination.

Sudden natural death masquerading as accidental death - a case report

Things are not always what they seem at first sight. One should always be on the watch for more than presents itself as the main issue in the investigation of crime. Whenever a person dies at the scene of accident, it is inferred that the accident caused the death. But that does not mean that the inference is correct. A person who was suspected to have met with a road traffic accident after autopsy turned out to be a case of sudden natural death due to acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis. The case is reported as it is of medico-legal interest because a natural death appeared to be due to a traffic accident.

Fatal acute pancreatitis occurring outside of the hospital: clinical and social characteristics

BACKGROUND

Mortality caused by acute pancreatitis in patients admitted to the hospital has been thoroughly investigated, but knowledge regarding outpatient fatalities is far from complete. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence and clinical characteristics of patients who have died due to acute pancreatitis occurring outside the hospital.

METHODS

Deaths caused by acute pancreatitis in the southern part of Sweden during 1994-2008 were identified at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Lund. A retrospective review of all cases was performed.

RESULTS

A total of 50 patients were included, representing approximately 50 of 292 (17%) of all deaths due to acute pancreatitis in the region during this period of time. Median age was 54 (47-69) years and the majority-37 (74%)-were men. The main etiology was alcohol, seen in at least 35 (70%) patients. Twelve (24%) patients were obese. The duration of abdominal pain, in evaluable cases, was 3.0 (1.6-6.2) days. Profound signs of pancreatitis were seen in all patients; 35 (70%) had a necrotising disease according to histopathological examination. Pulmonary changes were common, e.g., bronchopneumonia, pleural effusion, or edema, and all but four had fatty liver. Massive intra-abdominal bleeding was seen in one patient. At least eight patients had a mental disorder, and three were homeless.

CONCLUSIONS

Fatal acute pancreatitis occurring outside the hospital accounts for a substantial part of all deaths due to the disease. The incidence seems to decline, and no variation in season was seen. Alcohol was the predominant etiology. Many of the patients lived alone and in poor social conditions.

Sudden adult death

In the investigation of sudden death in adults, channelopathies, such as long QT syndrome, have risen to the fore in the minds of forensic pathologists in recent years. Examples of these disorders are touched upon in this review as an absence of abnormal findings at postmortem examination is characteristic and the importance of considering the diagnosis lies in the heritable nature of these conditions. Typically, a diagnosis of a possible channelopathy is evoked as an explanation for a 'negative autopsy' in a case of apparent sudden natural death. However, the one potential adverse effect of this approach is that subtle causes of sudden death may be overlooked. The intention of this article is to review and discuss potential causes of sudden adult death (mostly natural) that should be considered before resorting to a diagnosis of possible channelopathy. Nonetheless, it becomes apparent that many of the potential causes of sudden death can have a genetic basis. Thus, it becomes an important consideration that there may be a genetic basis to sudden death that extends beyond the negative autopsy.