Organ Weight Reference Ranges for Ages 0 to 12 Years.

Abnormal organ weights often serve as an indicator of underlying disease or other pathological process making assessment of organ weight a critical part of the autopsy examination and interpretation. Unfortunately, normal organ weights for children are often based on studies done in the 1930s and 1960s. Thus, the present study was designed to accurately assess organ weights in children to establish reference ranges for use in autopsy examinations. A total of 1759 traumatic deaths in children aged 0 to 12 years were reviewed. Analysis revealed that body length was the best predictor for organ weight. Reference ranges were established and stratified by both age and body length.

Intra-Atrial Right Coronary Artery and its Ablation Implications.

OBJECTIVES: The study examined the frequency in which a right coronary artery (RCA) anomaly resulting in intra-atrialization of the vessel might increase risk of RCA damage during routine radiofrequency ablation in the right atrium even with low power or temperature. BACKGROUND: Right coronary artery (RCA) injury with endocardial RF ablation of the right atrium is a rare complication. METHODS: This prospective observational study comprised an analysis of coronary artery anatomies in 331 patients who underwent autopsies at our institution from 2005 to 2014. The presence of intra-atrial RCA including the number and length of intra-atrial RCA segments with accompanying atherosclerosis and coronary anomalies were evaluated. RESULTS: The authors report a case series of 6 of 331 (1.8%) patients in whom autopsies showed evidence of an intra-atrial RCA. The patients were all men (average 69 ± 12 years of age). They observed 3 variations of the intra-atrial RCA course. In 2 similar variations, the RCA entered the anterolateral aspect of the right atrium, returning to its normal distribution to supply the distal RCA (case 4 of 6) and the atrioventricular nodal artery (case 1 of 6). In the sixth case, the atrialized artery was an anterior branch of the RCA, in which the artery similarly coursed across the pectinate muscles, extending to the region of the anterior crista terminalis, before diving into the muscle. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence and variants of the intra-atrial RCA have not been reported before. In the presence of an intra-atrial artery, RCA damage may occur due to direct injury rather than collateral injury due to transmural extension of an ablation lesion.

Fatal non-thrombotic pulmonary embolization in a patient with undiagnosed factitious disorder.

BACKGROUND: Factitious fever is extremely challenging to diagnose in patients with complicated chronic medical problems, and represents as much as 10% of fevers of unknown origin. Factitious fever caused by self-injecting oral medications through indwelling central catheters is a diagnostic challenge. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 32-year-old Caucasian female with history of short gut syndrome, malnutrition requiring total parental nutrition, and pancreatic auto-islet transplant with fever of unknown origin. Multiple episodes of bacteremia occurred with atypical pathogens, including α-hemolytic Streptococcus, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and Mycobacterium mucogenicum. Chest computed tomography was notable for extensive tree-in-bud infiltrates. Sudden cardiac arrest with right-sided heart failure following acute hypoxemia led to her death. Diffuse microcrystalline cellulose emboli with foreign body granulomatosis was found on autopsy. Circumstantial evidence indicated that this patient suffered from factitious disorder, and was self-injecting oral medications through her central catheter. CONCLUSION: A high index of suspicion, early recognition, and multifaceted team support is essential to detect and manage patients with factitious disorders before fatal events occur.