JCP

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER
[Advanced]

Journal of Clinical Pathology 2008;61:848-850; doi:10.1136/jcp.2007.054569
Copyright © 2008 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Association of Clinical Pathologists.

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this link to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Add article to my folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rajab, R
Right arrow Articles by Baithun, S
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rajab, R
Right arrow Articles by Baithun, S

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Autopsy pathology of cocaine users from the Eastern district of London: a retrospective cohort study

R Rajab1, E Stearns2, S Baithun3

1 Wimbledon, London, UK
2 The Coroners Court, Walthamstow, London, UK
3 Department of Histopathology, Bart’s and the London NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, London, UK

Correspondence to:
Dr R Rajab, St Josephs Cottage, 135a Hartfield Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 3TJ, UK; ramzimarkrajab{at}yahoo.co.uk

Aim: To establish the most frequent pathological findings encountered at postmortem examination during the investigation of a fatality with a history of cocaine abuse.

Methods: Autopsied deaths investigated by the coroner for the Eastern district of London, between 2004 and 2007, in which the decedent had positive toxicology for cocaine were identified (n = 28). The autopsy records and histology of tissue taken at autopsy were retrieved and reviewed. Pathological findings (gross and microscopic, including cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, renal and neurological) were collated.

Results: The main pathological findings at autopsy occurring in this cohort (comprising predominantly men, mean age 31 years), were cardiovascular: left ventricular hypertrophy (46%), multifocal myocardial fibrosis (21%), coronary artery disease (29%), cerebrovascular disease (36%) and pulmonary oedema (71%). Hepatic steatosis (29%) and gastrointestinal haemorrhage (18%), due mostly to gastric erosions/ulceration, were also frequent findings.

Conclusions: During a coroner’s autopsy of a cocaine user, a thorough cardiac examination combined with cardiac tissue sampling for histology, are valuable investigations, which are most likely to help show pathology relevant to the cause of death.








HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER
Journal of Clinical Pathology Molecular Pathology
Terms and conditions relating to subscriptions purchased online  ¦  Website terms and conditions  ¦  Privacy policy
Copyright © 2008 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Association of Clinical Pathologists.