Sudden Death Due to Acute Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis: A Case Report
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v17i3.19467Keywords:
Sudden death, Pancreatic haemorrhage, Pancreatic necrosis, Alcoholic liver disease, Acute hemorrhagic pancreatitisAbstract
Sudden unexpected deaths pose a challenge for the forensic pathologists. Usually relates to cardiovascular cause
and such deaths due to gastrointestinal related pathology are uncommon. Acute pancreatitis is a major etiology of
gastrointestinal sudden deaths. It is mainly associated with gallbladder stones and alcoholism. We report a case
of a 48-year-old man, chronic alcoholic, who was brought dead to hospital after complaints of abdominal pain
and vomiting. The postmortem examination revealed the death due to acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Literature
shows pancreatitis to be significantly associated with alcoholic liver disease. The present case reemphasizes the
importance of examination of retroperitoneal space during autopsy and how ancillary investigations such as
histopathology, chemical analysis, measuring serum amylase, lipase and vitreous glucose levels help in arriving
at final diagnosis.
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