Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2010 Volume 138, Issue 9-10, Pages: 590-594
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1010590Z
Full text ( 1292 KB)
Cited by
Sudden cardiac death and acute drunken state: Autopsy study
Živković Vladimir
Miletić Borislav
Nikolić Slobodan
Juković Fehim
Introduction. Sudden natural death occurs unexpectedly in apparently healthy
subjects, or in persons during an apparent benign phase in the course of
disease. The most common cause is sudden cardiac death, which is sometimes
the first and last manifestation of coronary heart disease. Alcohol directly
influences excitation of myocytes, and therefore provokes arrhythmias and
possibly, sudden cardiac death. Objective. To establish the frequency of
sudden cardiac death in cases of acute alcohol intoxication, to determine
blood alcohol concentration at the moment of death, and to determine
frequency and level of ethanol intoxication in chronic alcohol abusers, as
well as causes of sudden death in those cases. Method. Retrospective autopsy
study was performed for a three-year-period. We analyzed cases of sudden
natural death, in relation to age and gender, cause of death, and blood
alcohol concentration (at least 0.5 g/L). We considered the person to be a
chronic alcoholic abuser if gross examination of organs during autopsy
showed changes typical for excessive and habitual alcohol consumption.
Results. Our sample consisted of 997 cases: 720 men and 277 women, average
age 62.0±15.2 years (min=11; max=98). Total of 753 of them died of sudden
cardiac death: much more men (χ2=167.364; p=0.000), significantly younger
than women (t=6.203; p=0.000). We determined acute alcohol intoxication in
73 persons - average blood alcohol concentration 1.85±1.01 g/L (min=0.55;
max=3.85), and 61 of them died of cardiovascular diseases (χ2=236.781; df=5;
p=0.000). Conclusion. In our observed sample, not many persons were under
acute alcohol intoxication (around 7%). Most commonly, they were chronic
alcohol abusers who died due to exacerbation of chronic heart disease,
mildly or moderately intoxicated - the younger, the drunker.
Keywords: sudden cardiac death, alcohol intoxication, alcoholism, forensic pathology
More data about this article available through SCIndeks