Collegium antropologicum
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Collegium antropologicum · Jun 2010
Case ReportsTrauma related fat embolism syndrome in forensic practice.
The fat embolism syndrome (FES) in forensic practice is observed usually in cases of polytrauma related deaths. FES is rare, but serious complication after trauma. The most cases of post traumatic fat embolism are not fatal and it's very likely that many cases of mild fat embolism are overlooked. ⋯ We present one case of FES to emphasize the arising need of a quantitative analysis of both the size and localization of the fat emboli in order to grade the severity of FES and its relative contribution in pathophysiology of death. The postmortem diagnosis of fat embolism syndrome (FES), traditionally based on the histological demonstration of fat globules seems not to be enough, nowadays. A quantitative analysis of both the size and localization of the fat emboli has been discussed as reliable method of grading the pulmonary fat embolism in order to determine its relative functional contribution in death pathogenesis.