ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 9

Death as a Result of Asthma in Wayne County Medical Examiner Cases, 1975–1987
Ryan, D
Research assistant, Wayne County Medical Examiners' Office, MI

Mirchandani, H
Chief medical examiner, Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office, PA

Hood, I
Forensic pathologist, Glenview Pathology Medical Group, CA

Biedrzycki, L
Deputy chief medical examiner, Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office, MI

Campbell, S
Resident, University of Michigan Medical School, MI

(Received 24 January 1989; accepted 8 May 1989)

Abstract

All deaths ascribed to asthma in the 5-to-40-year age group at the Wayne County Medical Examiners' Office were reviewed from 1975 to 1987 inclusive. Fifty-eight deaths were attributed solely to asthma, and the annual number increased fivefold in the 1980s to a rate of approximately 0.5 per 100 000 per year when extrapolated to the Wayne County population. Blacks were overrepresented to double their proportion in the general population. Almost all cases were known asthmatics, and many had received previous emergency care. Most fatalities occurred at night and did not demonstrate any seasonal variation. The onset of the fatal attack was apparently very rapid in most cases, with many engaged in routine activities and few surviving any length of time in hospital or having sought treatment earlier. Our data reveal a significant increase in sudden death in previously well asthmatics in Wayne County in the 1980s. Similar increases in deaths as a result of asthma have been noted previously in other countries for reasons that remain unclear.

Keywords:
pathology and biology, asthma, death

Paper ID: JFS12836J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS12836J
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