UNEXPECTED DEATH IN 2 YOUNG INFANTS MIMICS SIDS - AUTOPSIES DEMONSTRATE TUMORS OF MEDULLA AND HEART

A total of 423 medicolegal autopsies of infants under the age of 1 yea r were done during a 15-year period (1980-1994) at the Department of F orensic Medicine in Stockholm. Only tyro instances with findings of hu mors occurred. One was a unilateral oligodendroglioma involving the me dullary reticular formation and inferior olivary nucleus with associat ed myocardial alterations; the other was a fibroma of the left. heart ventricle. Both are interesting with regard to their localization-the medulla oblongata and the heart-and by causing death in a way that mim ics the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In the heart of the infan t with oligodendroglioma, a single fascicle of hamartomatous, immature appearing heart muscle fibers was found, making the interpretation of the cause of death more intricate.