Sudden Death of a Patient With Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis

We report a case of sudden death due to bilateral pneumothorax in a previously healthy 16-year-old adolescent white girl. She presented with sudden onset of shortness of breath followed by loss of consciousness. Postmortem chest radiograph showed bilateral pneumothoraces. Autopsy confirmed the bilateral pneumothorax and additionally showed emphysematous changes and bullae throughout the lung tissue. Microscopic sections of the lungs showed Langerhans cell histiocytosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of fatal presentation of pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis.