TY - JOUR
T1 - Undiagnosed acromegaly as an underlying cause of sudden death
AU - Borgen, Anna Elisabet
AU - Bugge, Anne Birgitte Dyhre
AU - Lund, Eva Løbner
AU - Banner, Jytte
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - We report a case of sudden death in a 31-year-old male diagnosed at autopsy with clinical undiagnosed acromegaly. The purpose of this report is to underline the importance of health professionals reacting to phenotypic acromegaly, such as acral enlargement and/or unexplained hypertension, including a range of severe comorbidities, to avoid a fatal outcome. Recent studies have shown that the increased mortality seen in acromegaly patients can be reversed with modern treatment aimed at normalizing GH and IGF-I levels. One year before death, the presented case was diagnosed with hypertension, but was otherwise described as healthy. The forensic autopsy, including post-mortem CT, showed phenotypic facial and body characteristics for acromegaly, general visceromegaly, and a pituitary tumor. The cause of death was heart failure due to end-stage acromegalic cardiopathy. Because the disease is slowly progressive, the individual himself, and the people close to him, might not have considered the acromegaly-related facial changes as abnormal.
AB - We report a case of sudden death in a 31-year-old male diagnosed at autopsy with clinical undiagnosed acromegaly. The purpose of this report is to underline the importance of health professionals reacting to phenotypic acromegaly, such as acral enlargement and/or unexplained hypertension, including a range of severe comorbidities, to avoid a fatal outcome. Recent studies have shown that the increased mortality seen in acromegaly patients can be reversed with modern treatment aimed at normalizing GH and IGF-I levels. One year before death, the presented case was diagnosed with hypertension, but was otherwise described as healthy. The forensic autopsy, including post-mortem CT, showed phenotypic facial and body characteristics for acromegaly, general visceromegaly, and a pituitary tumor. The cause of death was heart failure due to end-stage acromegalic cardiopathy. Because the disease is slowly progressive, the individual himself, and the people close to him, might not have considered the acromegaly-related facial changes as abnormal.
U2 - 10.1007/s12024-021-00361-5
DO - 10.1007/s12024-021-00361-5
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 33847875
VL - 17
SP - 322
EP - 326
JO - Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology
JF - Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology
SN - 1547-769X
ER -