Key result
Autopsy revealed that the cause of sudden unexpected death in a 7-month-old infant, initially assumed to be sudden infant death syndrome, was cardiac arrhythmia secondary to a cardiac fibroma.
Case Report (n=1)
Cardiac fibroma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of sudden unexpected infant death, as it can cause fatal arrhythmias mimicking sudden infant death syndrome.
Cardiac fibroma merits inclusion in the SIDS differential; this single case leaves open its prevalence and any screening role.
A 7-month-old previously healthy female infant was found dead in her crib by her mother shortly after having been laid down to sleep following the noontime feeding. Because the child did not suffer from an acute illness and no other evidence pointed to a cause of death, it was initially assumed by the police that she had died of sudden infant death syndrome. At autopsy, however, the cause of death was determined to be cardiac arrhythmia secondary to fibroma of the heart.
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Meißner et al. (2000) conducted a case report in Sudden Unexpected Infant Death / Fibroma of the Heart (n=1). Autopsy was evaluated on Cause of death. Autopsy revealed that the cause of sudden unexpected death in a 7-month-old infant, initially assumed to be sudden infant death syndrome, was cardiac arrhythmia secondary to a cardiac fibroma.
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