This study presents a case of sudden cardiac death due to cardiac small vessel vasculitis after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccination (BNT162b2). The deceased was a 76-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic hypertension (HTN), who experienced generalized pain for a month after the first dose of vaccination, and unexpectedly died. Postmortem examination revealed small vessel vasculitis in the heart, lungs and vaccinated site of the left arm. These features were similar to those observed in a previously reported case of a patient with COVID-19 and cardiac endotheliitis and multisystem inflammatory syndrome. In addition, DM and HTN may contribute to vaccine-induced immunologic changes and vascular dysfunction. However, further studies with additional cases are needed.

This study highlights a new case of an infant death caused by mechanical asphyxia, who was found dead after being wrapped and pressed by a daycare center teacher with the body and beddings. Moreover, we present a comparative review of four similar previously reported cases and the implications for forensic pathologists in the management of such cases from the perspectives of judicial verdicts of the cases. The previous report commented that the four cases could be considered as overlaying as a type of accidental asphyxia. However, a contextual comprehensive review including the whole scenarios of the cases and negative postmortem findings concluded that all the cases were explicitly different from overlaying cases. Furthermore, we followed up the judicial processes and verdicts in all five cases, including the present case and the four previously reported cases. In the four cases, the defendants were incarcerated for violation of ‘Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.’ The ruling trend revealed that the prison sentence durations had been prolonged from 4 to 19 years. Therefore, for a pediatric death suspecting mechanical asphyxia involving a daycare center, contextual comprehensive approach is essential to determine the cause of death and to provide appropriate medicolegal interpretation.

In critically ill patients, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a common and fatal hematological disorder. DIC is a physiological response to a variety of underlying stimuli that provoke generalized activation of the hemostatic mechanism and is common in septic patients and those with hematological or non-hematological malignant neoplasms. Bleeding is a common clinical feature, and diffuse or multiple-site mucocutaneous bleeding, such as petechia, ecchymosis and hemorrhage from gastrointestinal tract, is often seen. A 58-year-old male was recently diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) caused by DIC associated with sepsis. Mortality of ICH caused by DIC is very high because the underlying condition cannot be quickly treated. Awareness of the possibility of DIC developing in a critically ill patient and the need for immediate initiation of plasma or platelet replacement therapy are important. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of intracranial hemorrhage in a Korean patient with DIC associated with sepsis.
Blood Platelets ; Critical Illness ; Dacarbazine ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation* ; Ecchymosis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intracranial Hemorrhages* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Plasma ; Sepsis*

Animal poisoning has been occurred in Korea. However, the lack of the data about animal poisoning in Korea makes clinicians and diagnostician difficult to obtain information on poisoning cases. In this paper, we tried to gather information about animal poisoning from 1974 to June 2013 in Korea. Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (QIA) record database were used to examine recent trends in animal poisoning. The analysis showed that the cattle was reported to be the most common species involved in animal poisoning and botulinum toxin constituted the primary group of toxicants. Animal poisoning occurred frequently on January and in Gyenggi-do. Although the data present in this manuscript is a little, it will be helpful to understand the general trend of animal poisoning in Korea.
Animals* ; Botulinum Toxins ; Cattle ; Korea* ; Plants ; Poisoning* ; Quarantine

In critically ill patients, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a common and fatal hematological disorder. DIC is a physiological response to a variety of underlying stimuli that provoke generalized activation of the hemostatic mechanism and is common in septic patients and those with hematological or non-hematological malignant neoplasms. Bleeding is a common clinical feature, and diffuse or multiple-site mucocutaneous bleeding, such as petechia, ecchymosis and hemorrhage from gastrointestinal tract, is often seen. A 58-year-old male was recently diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) caused by DIC associated with sepsis. Mortality of ICH caused by DIC is very high because the underlying condition cannot be quickly treated. Awareness of the possibility of DIC developing in a critically ill patient and the need for immediate initiation of plasma or platelet replacement therapy are important. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of intracranial hemorrhage in a Korean patient with DIC associated with sepsis.
Blood Platelets ; Critical Illness ; Dacarbazine ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Ecchymosis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Plasma ; Sepsis