ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 July 1978
Page Count: 3

Spontaneous Pneumothorax in the Newborn: A Report of Two Fatalities
Norton, LE
Medical examiner, Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, Tex.

Zumwalt, RE
Former assistant medical examiner, Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, Tex.

DiMaio, VJM
Medical examiner, Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, Tex.

(Received 29 September 1977; accepted 21 December 1977)

Abstract

Pneumothorax in the newborn is a well-known complication of the respiratory distress syndrome and its therapy [1,2]. The sudden unexpected development of this condition in a full-term, apparently healthy infant is uncommon. When this pneumothorax leads to immediate death, the diagnosis will most likely elude clinicians and the case be reported to the medical examiner. The diagnosis can be readily made and documented if one is familiar with this entity and considers it prior to autopsy. The Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences has encountered two such deaths in a year.

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Paper ID: JFS10698J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS10698J
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