Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare event and commonly associated with pregnancy and female gender. This condition can reduce or completely obstruct the blood flow to the heart, causing a myocardial ischaemia, abnormalities in heart rhythm or sudden death. We present a case of a 28-year-old Indian male with no previous medical illness who complained sudden onset of chest pain prior to his death. Autopsy revealed a left anterior descending coronary artery dissection associated with plaque rupture. The anterior wall of left ventricle showed contraction band necrosis. There was also atheroma present in the right coronary artery which was insignificant. Histologically, dissection was associated with atherosclerosis. There was no evidence of vasculitis. The cause of death was given as coronary artery dissection due to coronary artery atherosclerosis.
coronary artery dissection ; post-mortem

Introduction: The role of pathologist not only confined in performing post mortem but also can assist in prevention. The aim of this study to determine the prevalence and association of drug of abuse (DoA) in road traffic collision (RTC) at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

Hanging is the most common method of suicide in Malaysia. However, hanging in combination with suicidal ligature strangulation is uncommon. The victim is a 31-year-old man, with no previous medical or psychiatric disorders. He accomplished self-strangulation using a shoelace and hanging himself with a High-Definition Multimedia Interface cable. Three loops of a shoelace ligature were present around the neck. A single knot was present on the front, and a double knot at the back of the neck. Internal examination of the neck revealed small bilateral hemorrhages of the sternocleidomastoid muscles. No laryngeal cartilage or hyoid bone fractures were observed. No other evidence of injury was noted other than moderate pulmonary edema. The post-mortem toxicology results were negative. The cause of death was ascertained as neck compression due to ligatures. Scene assessment and post-mortem findings concur with suicide. This report describes an unusual case of suicidal ligature strangulation, in combination with hanging using two different ligatures.
Adult ; Cause of Death ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyoid Bone ; Laryngeal Cartilages ; Ligation ; Malaysia ; Methods ; Multimedia ; Muscles ; Neck ; Pulmonary Edema ; Suicide ; Toxicology

Hanging is the most common method of suicide in Malaysia. However, hanging in combination with suicidal ligature strangulation is uncommon. The victim is a 31-year-old man, with no previous medical or psychiatric disorders. He accomplished self-strangulation using a shoelace and hanging himself with a High-Definition Multimedia Interface cable. Three loops of a shoelace ligature were present around the neck. A single knot was present on the front, and a double knot at the back of the neck. Internal examination of the neck revealed small bilateral hemorrhages of the sternocleidomastoid muscles. No laryngeal cartilage or hyoid bone fractures were observed. No other evidence of injury was noted other than moderate pulmonary edema. The post-mortem toxicology results were negative. The cause of death was ascertained as neck compression due to ligatures. Scene assessment and post-mortem findings concur with suicide. This report describes an unusual case of suicidal ligature strangulation, in combination with hanging using two different ligatures.

Neonatal death due to inborn error of metabolism (IEM) is rare in Malaysia. We report a sudden neonate death just a few hours after being discharged from the hospital. The deceased was a two-day-old baby boy and was asymptomatic until his demise. He was fed with expressed breast milk and formula milk. Autopsy revealed fatty changes of the liver and an enlarged heart. Laboratory investigation confirmed very long chain Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency which resulted in his death. Autopsy of sudden unexpected death in neonate should include investigation for inborn error of metabolism. Fatty liver and enlarged heart could give a clue for the diagnosis.