Multiple lung tumors as the cause of death in a patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage: postmortem computed tomography study.

A 77-year-old woman who had been in the hospital suffering from a subarachnoid hemorrhage suddenly died after undergoing a cerebral aneurysmal operation. Postmortem whole-body computed tomography (CT) demonstrated multiple lung tumors with abnormal masses in the bronchus with no evidence of complications in the cranium. The patient was estimated to have died from asphyxia caused by metastatic lung and endobronchial tumors. Although a traditional autopsy was not performed, postmortem CT provided strong evidence for detecting the cause of death. In this case, postmortem CT played an important role in hospital risk management.