Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E J Jindrich.
Adrenal insufficiency is an infrequent and easily overlooked cause of sudden death, often occurring in individuals being treated for other serious disease processes. Three cases are presented to demonstrate some of the clinical presentations encountered, and the symptoms and signs are discussed.
The role that a drug or combination of drugs plays in the causation of death cannot always be stated with certainty. Drugs associated with the development of tolerance create a particular problem, and there is need for additional data concerning tolerable concentrations achieved by drug abusers. The common drug chloral hydrate falls into this category, and a case of possible chloral hydrate intoxication has been presented.
Four cases of fatal fulminant Streptococcus pneumoniae septicemia in asplenic individuals have been presented, demonstrating the relative lack of specificity of the symptoms and rapidity of the clinical course. Vigorous specific therapy was without apparent effect in two of the cases. No apparent reticuloendothelial deficiency prior to splenectomy was detected in two cases, and theoretically rather than clinically present in the others. Individual was hyposplenic secondary to splenic atrophy. The rapidity of the course and unexpected death will often bring such cases under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner, and medicolegal investigators should be alert for this syndrome.
The death of an individual under the influence of mescaline is presented. Concentrations of the drug were 9.7, 70.8, and 1163 micrograms/mL or micrograms/g in blood, liver, and urine respectively.