• Christopher J O'Conor, Huifang Zhou, Jon Ritter, Louis Dehner, and Mai He.
• All authors: Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2019 Mar 1; 20 (3): e180-e184.

ObjectivesIdentify and characterize pediatric pulmonary emboli present at autopsy.DesignRetrospective single institution observational study with clinicopathologic correlation.SettingTertiary medical center.PatientsAll autopsy cases performed at Washington University from 1997 to 2017 in pediatric patients (≤ 18 yr old).Main ResultsOf 1,763 pediatric autopsies, 13 cases of pulmonary emboli were identified, including thromboemboli (6/13, 46.1%), septic emboli (3/13, 23.1%), fat emboli, and foreign body emboli.ConclusionsPulmonary embolus is a relatively rare but potentially fatal cause of death in pediatric age patients and is often associated with congenital abnormalities, malignancy, or recent surgical procedures. Half of the fatal pulmonary emboli found in our series (3/6) show microscopic and diffuse, rather than large central or saddle emboli, potentially make a clinicoradiographic diagnosis more difficult. This series is also the first to report a case of hemostatic matrix pulmonary embolism in a pediatric age patient.

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