title: Sudden, unexpected infant death due to pulmonary arterial hypertension.
abstract: A 3-year-old girl with no particular medical history complained of a stomachache and died on the way to the hospital. The autopsy revealed marked right ventricular hypertrophy and dilation with no other cardiac abnormalities. Microscopically, the pulmonary small arteries showed marked medial hypertrophy and varying degrees of intimal and adventitial thickening. We supposed that the cause of death was attributable to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH is a rare disease that can cause sudden, unexpected death at any age. Forensic pathologists should consider PAH in the differential diagnosis of sudden death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan. Electronic address: igari@forensic.med.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Igari
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hosoya
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashizaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsukasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Analysis, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Usui
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Analysis, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawasumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashiyada
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Funayama
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D002423:Cause of Death; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003645:Death, Sudden; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography
keywords: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); Right ventricular hypertrophy; Sudden death in infancy