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Case Reports
. 2021 Jun;17(2):334-337.
doi: 10.1007/s12024-020-00320-6. Epub 2020 Nov 27.

Heart of glass: fatal hematemesis caused by bronchiole-cardiac fistula

Maggie Bellis  1   2 , Kristopher S Cunningham  3   4 , Michael J Pickup  3   4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Heart of glass: fatal hematemesis caused by bronchiole-cardiac fistula

Maggie Bellis et al. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

A 58-year old woman presented for autopsy after having been found unresponsive in a public bathroom surrounded by a pool of blood. During attempts at resuscitation, blood was noted in her airway. She had a past medical history that included surgical repair of Tetralogy of Fallot as a child. At autopsy, a shard of glass was identified projecting from the surface of the left lung, having formed densely fibrotic adhesions at the pleural surface. The glass also penetrated through a bronchiole lumen and into a previously surgically repaired bulging right ventricular outflow tract, forming a bronchiole-cardiac fistula, allowing for the massive hemoptysis that led to her death. After further inquiry, it was discovered that the decedent also had a history of seizure disorder and had fallen through a glass door during a seizure many years ago, requiring several shards of glass to be removed from her chest wall.

Keywords: Autopsy; Bronchiole-cardiac fistula; Fistula; Forensic pathology; Hematemesis.

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