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 -