title: An autopsy case of sudden death in a patient with giant cell myocarditis.
abstract: We present a case of a 28-year-old male weight lifter who died suddenly while driving a bicycle. Forensic autopsy and histopathological examinations revealed granulomatous lesions in the myocardium and hilar lymph nodes. The latter had massive caseation necrosis, epithelioid granulomas and Langhans' giant cells suggestive of tuberculosis. However, the myocardium showed predominantly multinucleated foreign body and myogenic giant cells, lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages, eosinophils. Staining for acid-fast bacilli was negative. The present case highlights the difficulty in establishing whether the granulomatous lesions in the hilar lymph nodes and the myocardium are incidental findings or whether they are related by the same pathogenetic mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur, India. drmeina@37.com
authors.forename: Ahongshangbam Meina
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Kaushik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Debnath
authors.forename: Soibam Subadani
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Devi
authors.forename: Pukhrambam Gayatri
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Devi
authors.forename: Ratan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Konjengbam
authors.forename: Huidrom
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nabachandra
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D006101:Granuloma, Giant Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*