Medicine

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/12

This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Autopsy

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A case report on inconsistent postmortem thyroid functions between femoral blood and vitreous fluid biochemistry
    (Walter de Gruyter, 2021) Senarathne, U.; Dias, V.; Kularathne, S.; Halangoda, S.; Jayasekara, V.D.; Kitulwatte, I.; Wijewardene, H.; Dayanath, B.
    BACKGROUND-AIM : Postmortem biochemistry can provide important information in determining the cause of death (COD). Out of postmortem specimens, vitreous fluid is ideal for postmortem biochemical analysis, as it is relatively isolated and less affected by postmortem changes (redistribution, hemoconcentration). However, equilibration of some analytes between blood and vitreous fluid can be affected by its anatomical location, as observed in this case, where postmortem femoral blood and vitreous fluid thyroid functions were used to conjecture premortem thyroid status of the patient in the absence of premortem values. METHODS: The postmortem specimens of femoral blood and vitreous fluid were obtained during the autopsy and analysed for thyroid hormones in the absence of premortem thyroid hormone values. RESULTS: A 28-year-old pregnant woman admitted at 26-weeks of gestation due to tachypnea and palpitations for 3-days. She had tachycardia (200bpm), with supraventricular-tachycardia on electrocardiogram, and poor left-ventricular function on echocardiography. She underwent an emergency hysterotomy to terminate her pregnancy but suffered a sudden death 6-hours after surgery. During the postmortem to ascertain her COD, vitreous biochemistry revealed a hyperthyroid picture with suppressed TSH and elevated free-T3 [TSH: 0.108mIU/L(0.465-4.68), free-T4: 13.22pmol/ L(10-28.2), free-T3: 12.74pmol/L(4.26-8.1)], while femoral blood had a euthyroid picture [TSH: 1.32mIU/L, free-T4: 13.3pmol/L, free-T3: 4.54pmol/L]. Postmortem thyroid histology showed detached follicular-epithelial-cells (autolytic changes), excluding autoimmune thyroiditis causing hyperthyroidism thus supraventricular-tachycardia as the COD. Her COD was confirmed as acute on chronic myocarditis by postmortem cardiac histology. CONCLUSIONS Based on the clinical presentation, hyperthyroidism was a differential diagnosis in this case leading to postmortem thyroid investigations. T3-toxicosis on vitreous biochemistry was confounding with detached follicular-epithelial-cells mimicking lymphocytes, misleading towards autoimmune thyroiditis. Differences in thyroid hormone transportation between compartments explain the inconsistency of thyroid status between femoral blood and vitreous fluid. This case highlights the need to interpret postmortem biochemistry cautiously and arrive at conclusions with a holistic approach. Due to the lack of literature on the correlation of postmortem to premortem biochemistry, the postmortem specimen type best representative of premortem thyroid function requires further research.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The autopsy in medical education
    (South East Asia Regional Association for Medical Education (SEARAME), 2021) Edussuriya, D.H.; Paranitharan, P.; Perera, W.N.S.; Thilakarathne, M.G.N.I.; Wijesiriwardena, W.M.S.Y.; Nanayakkara, C.
    No Abstract Available
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Death following ceftazidime-induced Kounis syndrome
    (London : Sage, 2017) Kitulwatte, I.D.G.; Gangahawatte, S.; Perera, U.L.M.S.; Edirisinghe, P.A.S.
    Kounis syndrome, also known as allergic myocardial infarction or allergic angina syndrome, coincides with chest pain and allergic reactions. It involves the activation of interrelated inflammatory cells following allergic, anaphylactic or anaphylactoid insults. We report a case of Kounis syndrome complicated by an injection of ceftazidime. A 52-year-old man developed shortness of breath and hypotension, leading to immediate unconsciousness, after a ceftazidime injection. Despite intensive care management, he showed no improvement and died approximately 19 h after ceftazidime administration. Autopsy showed massive laryngeal oedema, mucous plugging and collapsed lungs. An ImmunoCAP tryptase assay showed the tryptase level in an autopsy sample to be 118 µg/L (normal < 11.4 µg/L). Microscopy of the myocardium showed cellular infiltration preceding myocardial necrosis. These findings support the pathophysiological theory of Kounis syndrome, with cellular infiltration proposed as the cause of myocardial injury rather than an effect related to the healing process.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    A Retrospective study on perinatal post-mortems
    (University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Liyanage, S.K.; Mahendra, B.A.G.G.; Ratnayake, R.M.U.S.; Hewavisenthi, S.J.
    A post-mortem examination is the key to the recognition of pathologies related to perinatal deaths. A perinatal death could be related to fetal, maternal or placental factors. A complete perinatal post-mortem (PPM) includes examination of the dead body and the placenta. The PPM findings assist the clinical team in confirming their clinical findings and uncover the additional pathologies, and the family for future pregnancy planning. This study was carried out to identify the number of perinatal post mortems (PPMs) reported during the study period, the number of PPMs with multiple congenital anomalies and the number of PPMs accompanied by a placenta and the number of placentae with identifiable pathology. This study was on already reported PPMs in a tertiary care center from January 2011- August 2016. Multiple congenital anomalies were noted in 14% (16/118) of the PPMs. Placentae were submitted for examination in 26% (31/118) with clinically significant placental pathologies in 23% (7/31). In 64% (76/118) of PPMs there were no gross abnormality in the fetus/baby. The placenta was not available for examination in 72% (55/76) and therefore, the possibility of placental pathology, which might have led to the death, could not be excluded.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    A Study into blood alcohol concentration in fatal accidents among vulnerable road users in a tertiary care hospital Sri Lanka
    (Informa Healthcare, 2015) Edirisinghe, P.A.S.; Kitulwatte, I.D.G.; Senarathne, U.D.
    Reckless driving behaviour associated with alcohol has been well known. In Sri Lanka, research on blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in roadfatalities is scares. Thus, we studied the BAC in vulnerable road users (VRUs) encountered in medico-legal autopsies. A retrospective descriptive study based on case records of VRU fatalities from 2005 to 2012 referred for a tertiary care unit for post-mortem examination was conducted. A pro-forma was developed to extract data from the post-mortem blood alcohol reports. Data were analysed using percentages and p-values. There were 119 cases from the 328 autopsies to investigate blood alcohol tests. A total of 51% (n = 61) out of 119 had BAC above 80 mg/100 ml and mean level was 103 mg/100 ml. 2/3 of pedestrians had a BAC above 80 mg/100 ml with a mean level of 139 mg/dl. The highest mean blood alcohol (158 mg/dl) was reported from three-wheeler users. Majority of cases with more than 80 mg/100 ml BAC was reported in the age group of 40-60 years, while 40% of the elderly too had a BAC above 80 mg/100 ml. The comparison between pedestrians having above 80 mg/100 ml of BAC with that of other VRUs (active road users) showed a significant statistical difference (p = 0.017). Thestudy results suggest that alcohol influence among pedestrians represent a significant risk factor for fatal road traffic accidents.
All items in this Institutional Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. No item in the repository may be reproduced for commercial or resale purposes.