TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax secondary to aspiration pneumonia induced by a wristwatch lodged at the pharyngoesophageal junction
JO  - Forensic science, medicine, and pathology
A1  - Kawai, Chihiro
A1  - Miyao, Masashi
A1  - Kotani, Hirokazu
A1  - Tamaki, Keiji
SP  - 249
EP  - 254
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
N2  - Bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax secondary to disease is rare and seldom encountered in forensic autopsies; however, traumatic bilateral pneumothorax occurs often. Herein, we present a forensic case involving a 50-year-old woman who died 4 days after ingesting a wristwatch. Postmortem computed tomography and autopsy findings demonstrated that the wristwatch was lodged at the pharyngoesophageal junction, that she had a bilateral pneumothorax unaccompanied by any thoracic wound, and that macular hemorrhagic lesions on the lung surfaces were responsible for the pneumothorax. A histological examination of the macular lesions revealed that they were aspiration pneumonia foci with many birefringent foreign materials. Furthermore, a necrotic process secondary to aspiration pneumonia with a one way check-valve hyperinflation caused by foreign materials in the bronchioles was the most probable pathogenesis of her pneumothorax. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a bilateral secondary spontaneous pneumothorax caused by a large foreign body at the pharyngoesophageal junction leading to death.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1547-769X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12024-015-9663-y
ID  - ref1
ER  -