[Forensic pathological analysis on 23 cases of fatal pulmonary thromboembolism].
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the forensic pathological characteristics of sudden death caused by pulmonary thromboembolism and the chronological transformation of thrombus and explore the assessment method of the causal relationship between previous trauma and the following fatal PTE episode.


METHODS
All the 23 cases reviewed here were collected from our institute files from the year of 1998 to 2008.


RESULTS
Trauma, surgery and braking etc. were all risky factors of PTE. Of these cases, 12 cases were caused by trauma, 21 cases were caused by surgery and 22 cases died in hospitals which were often happened one or two weeks after injury or one week's postoperative time. Of all the cases, 6 cases had single attack of thrombus and the rest 17 cases had the recurrence of thrombus. The number of the leg deep vein to be the embolic source was 16 cases which were often seen in the left leg.


CONCLUSIONS
It is important to confirm the embolic source, trauma, surgery and chronological events in determing the sudden death with PTE.
West China School of Preclinical and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. daoyin-gong@163.com
Dao-yin
DY
Gong
Yao-bin
YB
Wang
Cen-cen
CC
Zhang
Fei-jun
FJ
Huang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D005104:Expert Testimony; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000473:pathology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications; D055815:Young Adult