Key result
Medullary infarction triggers sudden cardiac arrest during MRI from acute brainstem-mediated circulatory collapse.
Why the study?
Sudden death in stable medullary infarction cases frequently induces legal problems and the etiology is often unknown due to rare autopsies.
Case Report (n=1)
May warrant closer monitoring for circulatory collapse in medullary infarction; case report leaves open confirmation of mechanism and generalizability.
Sudden death in a stable medullary infarction case frequently induces legal problems. Currently, the etiology of the most reported cases are not known because autopsy is rare. Here, we report one female patient with medullary infarction who experienced a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest during a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study. The blood flow changes on the MRI indicated that her death resulted from the sudden collapse of systemic circulation. Dysautonomia, or sudden respiratory arrest resulting from brainstem dysfunction, was suspected. In this report, we present her cranial MRI findings and discuss the possible pathophysiology after reviewing the relevant literature. We also recommend certain tests for patients with medullary infarction to prevent the risk of sudden unexpected deaths.
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Wang et al. (2013) conducted a case report in Medullary infarction (n=1). Medullary infarction was evaluated on Sudden cardiopulmonary arrest. A female patient with medullary infarction experienced sudden cardiopulmonary arrest during an MRI, likely resulting from sudden collapse of systemic circulation due to brainstem dysfunction.
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