Sudden death due to pituitary apoplexy.
A case of sudden, unexpected death due to hemorrhage into a large, previously undiagnosed pituitary adenoma (pituitary apoplexy) in a 41-year-old man is presented. Pituitary adenomas are frequent intracranial tumors with usually benign prognosis. Acute hemorrhage into the tumor is a severe and potentially fatal complication, if not diagnosed and treated early, and occurs in up to 10% of cases. Sudden tumor enlargement due to the hemorrhage with compression of vessels and neural tissue at the skull base may result in coma and death without preceding symptoms leading to forensic investigations as demonstrated by this case report.
Bauer
M
M
Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, Versbacher Strasse 3, D-97078 Wuerzburg, Germany. reme005@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
Lang
C
C
Patzelt
D
D