Korean J Leg Med.  2016 Feb;40(1):19-22. 10.7580/kjlm.2016.40.1.19.

Postmortem Diagnosis of Diabetic Ketoacidosis: An Autopsy Case

• Park JP
• Kang HM
• Won YJ
• Chung IJ
• Lee BW

• KMID: 2155726
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2016.40.1.19

Abstract

Diabetic ketoacidosis is an acute complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus, which is observed frequently in routine autopsies. However, there are limitations of postmortem diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis. Clinical diagnostic criteria of the disease are not applicable to postmortem diagnosis because of the postmortem changes of the body; hence, diagnostic morphological changes cannot be observed. We report the case of a 47-year-old man that was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis via routine autopsy and laboratory tests without information regarding his medical history. Additionally, we present a brief literature review.

Keyword

Diagnosis; Diabetic ketoacidosis; Autopsy

MeSH Terms

Autopsy*
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1
Diabetic Ketoacidosis*
Diagnosis*
Humans
Middle Aged
Postmortem Changes

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Histological image of diabetic glomerulosclerosis shows capillary basement membrane thickening (arrowheads) and diffuse mesangial sclerosis (arrow) (A, H&E, ×100; B, H&E, ×400).

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  Fig. 2. Histological image of the pancreas in type 1 diabetes mellitus shows reduction in the number and size of the islets and leukocytic infiltration of the islets (A, H&E, ×100; B, H&E, ×400).

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