F. Schulz et al., FATAL FAT-EMBOLISM IN ACUTE HEPATIC-NECROSIS WITH ASSOCIATED FATTY LIVER, The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology, 17(3), 1996, pp. 264-268
We report two cases of generalized nonviolent hepatogenic fat embolism
. A 63-year-old woman was sent to the hospital with suspected mushroom
poisoning. Shock symptoms occurred quickly and could not be treated e
ffectively; the patient died 24 h after admission. Postmortem examinat
ion showed acute yellow dystrophy of the liver with a severe preexisti
ng fatty liver. Any intoxication including Amanita phalloides could be
excluded. In all probability, a fulminant viral hepatitis caused live
r dystrophy, and the decay of the fatty liver cells led to generalized
fat embolism as the cause of death. The second patient, a 46-year-old
man, was reported to have suffered from an acute illness while in pri
son and died after having been transferred to the local hospital. Hist
ological examinations showed an acute liver dystrophy probably caused
by fulminant viral hepatitis with fatty degeneration. In this case, th
e cause of death was also found to be generalized fat embolism.