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Follow-up 15 years after a geronto-psychiatric prevalence study. Conditions concerning death, cause of death, and life expectancy in relation to psychiatric diagnosis.

In relation to a follow-up 15 years after a geronto-psychiatric prevalence investigation of the population aged 65+ in a rural population, analysis has been made of the type of death certificate, residence at time of death, place of death, cause of death and life-expectancy in relation to psychiatric diagnoses prevalent in 1961.

Aged

[Death causes in 428 alcoholic patients: a descriptive study].

Several studies have demonstrated either a direct or an indirect relationship between alcoholism and death causes. The present paper is a descriptive study about death causes in 428 alcoholic patients from San José, Costa Rica, metropolitan area, whose death occurred between 1978 and 1988. Sample subjects were males, under 90-year-old at death time. It was found out that basic death causes were: Traumatism and poisoning, 25%; circulatory system illnesses, 20%; digestive system illnesses, 18.5%, and tumors, 15%.

Adult

Case report of deaths caused by freon gas.

A report of two autopsies which is thought to be the first case of its kind in Japan is presented here. The cause of death was concluded to be oxygen deficiency from the filling of a compartment by Freon gas escaping from a cylinder. However, the authors suspect that Freon per se is not a non-toxic substance as had been believed but has some toxicity because of the existence of fat droplets in hepatocytes of mice exposed to reon gas and because of the behavioral findings on them during experiments.

Adult

[Is there a variation of death causes in diabetic patients].

On the basis of the post-mortem records of the Institute of Pathology of the University and District Hospital Rostock taking into consideration the clinical records the cause of 355 diabetics who died in the Rostock clinics from 1956 to 1972 were established and analysed. The results were compared with similar examinations of previous years, in which cases among others we established an increase of the mortality of diabetes and an increase of pyogenic infections and sclerosing vascular diseases as causes of death in diabetics. Special attention is paid to the factors of risk for the development of complications dangerous to life in diabetics and it is referred to the prophylactic and therapeutic consequences, respectively, resulting from this.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Artificial circulation for resuscitation after prolonged clinical death caused by hypoxia.

The dynamics of dying and the subsequent recovery of the main vital functions such as cardiac performance, respiration and unconditioned reflexes were investigated in 24 dogs resuscitated by Bryukhonenko's method of artificial circulation after 13-15 min clinical death caused by asphyxia. Application of artificial circulation during asystole required a gradual increase for 2-3 min in the volume of perfusion to optimum levels, since too rapid an increase of blood flow resulted in secondary ventricular fibrillation. In conditions of resuscitation with high volumes of extracorporeal perfusion (exceeding 100 ml kg-1 min-1), fast return of vital functions, their subsequent normalization, and relatively smooth recovery, can be achieved. Decreasing the rate of blood flow to 60-80 ml kg-1 min-1 delays the recovery of vital functions of the resuscitated organism. Severe post-resuscitation disease develops with a fatal outcome. Resuscitation with flows of 40 ml kg-1 min-1 or less is ineffective. We concluded that successful resuscitation after clinical death caused by asphyxia was possible only when the blood flow was 1.2-1.5 times higher than the normal cardiac output.

Animals

Effects of dependency among causes of death for cause elimination life table strategies.

A study is made of the effects of associated causes of death, and of dependency among causes of death, by observing the relative importance of one cause of death when another is eliminated under various competing risk models. Two disease pairs, cancer and infectious disease and stroke and ischemic heart disease, are selected for analysis because they represent different types of disease dependence. Crude probabilities of death for each disease are calculated for the U.S. white male population in 1969. Next, the effects of the complementary disease in a pair are hypothetically eliminated in one of three ways: (a) a standard competing risk adjustment for cause elimination when deaths are singly caused (Chiang, 1968), (b) lethal defect-pattern of failure computations for multiply caused death when no causal order is inferred (Manton et al., 1976), and (c) relative susceptibility, computations for multiply caused deaths when causes are ordered (Wong, 1977). The paper closes with a discussion of the relative merits of the three types of adjustments.

Actuarial Analysis

[Sudden death caused by massive air embolism during respirator therapy in the newborn].

A premature male infant with hyaline membrane disease succumbed suddenly during continuous positive pressure respirator therapy. Autopsy revealed a very rare complication to be the cause of sudden death: air embolization to pulmonary veins, right ventricle and superior and inferior venae cavae as well as interstitial and subpleural emphysema, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium. The important role of lymphatic vessels as a port of entry for air is stressed.

Embolism, Air

[Unusual cases of maternal death caused by amniotic fluid embolism].

Five cases of amnion fluid embolism are reported. In the first case the cause of the death was the obstruction of the lung-vessels. In the lung tissue calcium embolia could also been detected. In the second case embolization started--at unruptured amnionsac--with ecclampsia-like convulsions, later it was followed by coagulopathia. In the third case amnion fluid embolism was complicated by coagulopathia. In the fourth case in addition to amnion fluid embolism endometritis purulenta complicated by endotoxinaemia and coagulopathia were also present. In all four cases rupture of the uterus was revealed. In the fifth case amnion fluid embolism developed without the rupture of the uterus. At the autopsy of cases of maternal death the possibility of amnion fluid embolism should always be considered. Although macroscopic changes seen at amnion fluid embolism are not pathognomic, when clinical and pathological symptoms of haemorrhagic diathesis are present, there always arises the suspicion of amnion fluid embolism. Since lungs are relatively resistant to putrefaction amnion fluid embolism in optimal cases can be diagnosed histologically even in exhumated lung specimen. Reliable diagnosis of amnion fluid embolism in cases of sudden maternal death gives possibility to exclude medical negligence.

Adult

Death caused by recreational cocaine use.

Sixty-eight deaths associated with the recreational use of illicit cocaine were investigated by the Medical Examiner's Office of Dade County in Florida. Most fatalities occurred since 1975. Although 29 involved the use of other drugs (usually heroin), 24 persons died directly of the toxic effects of cocaine. Respiratory collapse and death occurred rapidly after the intravenous injection of cocaine. Oral or nasal ingestion resulted in a symptom-free interval lasting as long as an hour followed suddenly by generalized seizures and death. Toxicological analysis could not causally relate lidocaine hydrochloride or other adulterants to the untoward reactions. The data suggest that the rate of absorption, the peak blood concentration, and the prior use of cocaine all contribute to the possibility of a fatal reaction. Despite current belief, cocaine cannot be considered a safe recreational drug.

Adolescent

Methadone toxicity causing death in ten subjects starting on a methadone maintenance program.

Methadone maintenance therapy is designed to reduce the need for addicts to use heroin or other illegal opiates. Death in patients starting on such a program has not previously been documented. We report the death of 10 persons who died within days of starting a methadone maintenance program administered by general practitioners. Their bodies were subject to a full autopsy by forensic pathologists, with a full toxicological examination. The mean starting dose had been 53 mg, which had been increased to a mean of 57 mg by the final dose. Death occurred after a mean of 3 days. The mean blood methadone concentration at death was 2.1 mumol/L. Complete toxicological analysis showed that six subjects had additional drugs present including two with alcohol, two with benzodiazepines and morphine, and one with benzodiazepines alone. Pathological examination revealed the presence of chronic persistent hepatitis in all subjects and bronchopneumonia in five. The causes of death were given as methadone toxicity or methadone toxicity in combination with bronchopneumonia. Our observations highlight the dangers of methadone in the first days of starting on a maintenance program, particularly when the starting doses are relatively high and subjects have no demonstrated tolerance to opiates.

Adult

[Deaths caused by poisoining in Switzerland].

In order to assess the mortality from poisoning in Switzerland, the medical certificates of death from the years 1972 to 1976 were analyzed. A comparison with earlier work shows that the overall mortality remains constant, with an increase of suicidal and a decrease of accidental and chronic poisoning. Most suicides are committed with drugs (especially hypnotics) and, mainly by men, with carbon monoxide (exhaust gas). Chronic fatal poisoning from the abuse of analgesics is lessening, at length, whereas death from hard drugs is on the increase. Fatal accidental poisoining is relatively rare in Switzerland. Among the victims are children, but adults as well, and particularly old people. Involved agents (carbon monoxide, drugs and medicines, technical and agricultural poisons, mushrooms) are pointed out with regard to prevention.

Accidents, Home

Deaths caused by pulmonary thromboembolism after legally induced abortion.

Pulmonary thromboembolism is an infrequent but serious complication of induced abortion. Of the 104 abortion-related deaths reported to the Center for Disease Control in 1972 through 1975, 10 (9.6 per cent) involved fatal pulmonary embolism; eight of these cases were proved at autopsy. All but one of the women had pre-existing risk factors for thromboembolic disease, including obesity, previous thrombophlebitis, use of oral contraceptives, or type A blood. All but one case occurred in women who had received general anesthesia. In addition, four of the eight women had undergone a concurrent sterilization procedure at the time of the abortion. Preventive efforts should focus on identifying women at high risk for thromboembolic events prior to the abortion procedure and then selecting the abortion procedure least likely to produce postoperative embolism.

Abortion, Induced