Sudden Unexpected Death During Bronchoscopy of a Patient with Pulmonary Lymphangitic Carcinomatosis and Pulmonary Tumor Thrombotic Microangiopathy due to Gastric Cancer

Korean J Leg Med 2019;43:153-158

Medical Examiner’s Office, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea,

Department of Pathology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea,

Division of Forensic Investigation, National Forensic Service Seoul Institute, Seoul, Korea

E-mail: zzeva@korea.kr

We present the case of a 48-year-old woman who complained of sustained dyspnea and newly developed dyspnea, who then suddenly and unexpectedly expired during bronchoscopy. On postmortem examination, the deceased had advanced gastric cancer as a primary tumor. Frequent lymphatic tumor emboli were observed with some pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis (PLC), and pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTMA). PLC and PTMA are lethal forms of pulmonary metastasis, and PTMA can lead to sudden death. The characteristic findings of PLC and PTMA in the deceased were not predominant, however, and the clinical manifestation was not acutely deteriorating. These findings are, therefore, insufficient to explain the deceased’s sudden death. Clinically, the deceased manifested hypoxemia, bradycardia and cardiac arrest during bronchoscopy and then soon expired, suggesting the possibility of cardiovascular complication related to bronchoscopy. Despite several limitations, we assumed that the sudden unexpected death might have been induced by cardiovascular complications related to bronchoscopy and due to the underlying pathologic condition by PLC and PTMA.

Key Words: Forensic pathology; Autopsy; Postmortem; Lymphatic carcinomatosis; Stomach neoplasms; Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy