Multiple lung tumors as the cause of death in a patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage: postmortem computed tomography study.
A 77-year-old woman who had been in the hospital suffering from a subarachnoid hemorrhage suddenly died after undergoing a cerebral aneurysmal operation. Postmortem whole-body computed tomography (CT) demonstrated multiple lung tumors with abnormal masses in the bronchus with no evidence of complications in the cranium. The patient was estimated to have died from asphyxia caused by metastatic lung and endobronchial tumors. Although a traditional autopsy was not performed, postmortem CT provided strong evidence for detecting the cause of death. In this case, postmortem CT played an important role in hospital risk management.
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Niigata City General Hospital, 463-7 Shumoku, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 950-1197, Japan. nandtr@hosp.niigata.niigata.jp
Naoya
N
Takahashi
Takeshi
T
Higuchi
Motoi
M
Shiotani
Haruo
H
Maeda
Osamu
O
Sasaki
D000368:Aged; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology*; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002423:Cause of Death; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed