Differential Building Flashcards
For this deck, read each scenario and create a differential diagnosis of the possible causes of death. (4 cards)
A 52 year old male is found deceased, supine at the bottom of the stairs in his home. He lives alone. The house was secured and the police had to break in to perform a welfare check when he did not present to work. His history includes tobacco use and hypertension. A lump is noted on the back of the head.
sudden natural event (heart attack, massive stroke, lethal arrhythmia, aortic rupture, etc), head/cervical spine trauma
A 70 year old female with an unknown past medical history is found deceased in her apartment where she lives with her son. He is quadriplegic and she is his primary caregiver. Her son was also found unresponsive, but with very slow respirations and was brought to the hospital. The fire department entered with a four gas, which yielded no readings. There is no evident trauma.
sudden natural event (cardiac, massive stroke, pulmonary, etc), drug overdose, homicidal poisoning
This is a 39 year old male with no past medical history who is known to be an avid backcountry skiier. He was found by another skier, with unknown down time. He was cold to the touch with external evidence of head injury. He was unhelmeted.
intracranial hemorrhage, hypothermia, crash due to sudden natural disease related medical event less likely
