DIEULAFOY’S DISEASE IN FORENSIC PRACTICE

Dieulafoy’s disease is a genetically determined lesion manifested in a developmental malformation of the vessels in the submucosal layer of the stomach with arrosion of an abnormally large artery. Dieulafoy’s ulcer is relatively uncommon and causes 0.4–1 % of all acute gastric bleedings, twice as often in men than in women. With the advent of endoscopy, its mortality rate decreased from 80 to 20 %. At the macroscopic scale, Dieulafoy’s arrosion is oval or star-shaped, with the mucous membrane “raised” above the bleeding vessel in the form of a polyp. In 80 % of the cases, the haemorrhage occurs at a 5–6 cm distance from the oesophageal-gastric anastomosis, most commonly in the lesser curvature. Microscopically, the wall of the arrosed artery is affected by proliferation and sclerosis of the intima, degeneration of the middle layer and disappearance of elastic fibres. This article describes a case from forensic practice that may be of interest to doctors of various specialities. During autopsy of citizen F., his stomach was found to contain two litres of black-brown clotted blood. Examination of the gastric mucosa revealed a lesion in the lesser curvature 5 cm below the oesophageal aperture with characteristic histological markers of Dieulafoy’s disease. Accordingly, death of citizen F. was caused by a massive gastric haemorrhage of a mucosal lesion developed in progression of Dieulafoy’s disease. This case highlights the risks associated with this pathology, as a massive gastric bleeding without proper timely surgery is potentially lethal.

Dieulafoy’s disease, gastric haemorrhage, forensic medicine