title: Sudden death due to lupus-induced pancarditis diagnosed after necropsy: a case report.
abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease affecting many organs and which is predominant in females. Although various manifestations of SLE may result in sudden death, pancarditis is very rarely encountered in forensic practice. We report on a case of sudden death caused by lupus-induced pancarditis. A 24-year-old male had pneumonia and intractable fever as initial signs when he was admitted to hospital. The patient had no symptoms associated with the cardiovascular system up to 3 days before he died. The echocardiogram and electrocardiogram were normal and diagnosis was not made until necropsy. This case is reported to broaden our understanding about the complexity of manifestations associated with SLE and inform clinicians and medical examiners of the potential for this type of lupus-induced pancarditis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China. Electronic address: gerichtsarzt@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yijie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ananda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sunnassee
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology; D009336:Necrosis; D010493:Pericarditis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Echocardiography; Forensic pathology; Pancarditis; Sudden death; Systemic lupus erythematosus