Differential Building Flashcards
For this deck, read each scenario and create a differential diagnosis of the possible causes of death. (6 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
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
A 70 year old army veteran who lives alone is found deceased in an arm chair in his living room on welfare check by PD. He has an extensive past medical history. The only recreational drugs found in the residence are marijuana. When first responders arrived there was a heavy smoke condition in the building, but no significant readings by the fire department’s four gas. There is a wood stove in the basement as the primary source of heat. The door to the wood stove is open and partly burned logs are strewn across the floor in front of it. One of the officers who has driven by multiple times recently notes that the American flag out front has been upside down for several weeks.
CO- poisoning - suicide (upside-down flag known as a sign of distress) or accident (?stove malfunction); natural death with red herring strange circumstances
A 53 year old female with a history of bipolar disorder, tobacco use, post traumatic stress disorder, and remote drug abuse is found “sleeping” on the toilet by her husband who is unable to arouse her. He reports placing her on the floor and checking on her frequently. Approximately 12 hours after the time he reports he initially thought she was sleeping he called 911 due to her being unresponsive and she was confirmed deceased by EMS. No external trauma is noted. Her prescribed medications include trazodone, which was recently filled and has less than the anticipated number of tablets remaining.
overdose (illicit or prescription or a combination), natural death
