Fatal cerebral sinus thrombosis associated with diabetic ketoacidosis in a child

Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2023 Jun;19(2):221-223. doi: 10.1007/s12024-023-00647-w. Epub 2023 May 24.

Abstract

Cerebral sinus thrombosis (CST) is an uncommon condition in children with a variable clinical presentation which has rarely been described in the setting of diabetic ketoacidosis. We present the case of 14-year-old child in whom lateral sinus thrombosis was caused by dehydration complicating ketoacidosis in a previously undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. The diagnosis of the CST was established during the autopsy due to the rapidity of the neurological deterioration. The cause of death was tonsillar herniation due to diffuse cerebral edema secondary to CST. This is the first published report of a CST in association with new onset type 1 diabetes in a child diagnosed at the postmortem examination.

Keywords: Autopsy; Cerebral sinus thrombosis; Child; Dehydration; Diabetic ketoacidosis; Pathology.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Brain Edema* / etiology
  • Child
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1* / complications
  • Diabetic Ketoacidosis* / complications
  • Diabetic Ketoacidosis* / diagnosis
  • Encephalocele
  • Humans
  • Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial* / complications
  • Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial* / diagnosis