Death due to Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage Associated with Dieulafoy's Lesion.

Park, Jaehong; Ha, Hongil; Kim, Minjung

doi:2014.38.3.113

Korean J Leg Med > Volume 38(3); 2014 > Article

Case Report

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2014;38(3):113-115.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.3.113 Published online August 31, 2014.

Death due to Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage Associated with Dieulafoy's Lesion.

Jaehong Park, Hongil Ha, Minjung Kim

¹Medical Examiner's Office, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea. lillu79@korea.kr
²Division of Forensic Medicine, Busan Institute, National Forensic Service, Yangsan, Korea.

Abstract

Dieulafoy's lesion is a rare condition that may cause intermittent or massive gastrointestinal bleeding. It is characterized by the exteriorization of an arterial vessel into the lumen of the affected organ, generally the upper digestive tract, through an apparently normal mucosa or a small tear or erosion. We report two patients with Dieulafoy's lesions, one in whom the lesion was misdiagnosed as a submucosal tumor and endoscopic biopsy resulted in fatal bleeding.

Key Words: Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, Endoscopy, Death, Autopsy