Unexpected death in two young infants mimics SIDS: autopsies demonstrate tumors of medulla and heart.

A total of 423 medicolegal autopsies of infants under the age of 1 year were done during a 15-year period (1980-1994) at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Stockholm. Only two instances with findings of tumors occurred. One was a unilateral oligodendroglioma involving the medullary reticular formation and inferior olivary nucleus with associated myocardial alterations; the other was a fibroma of the left heart ventricle. Both are interesting with regard to their localization--the medulla oblongata and the heart--and by causing death in a way that mimics the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In the heart of the infant with oligodendroglioma, a single fascicle of hamartomatous, immature appearing heart muscle fibers was found, making the interpretation of the cause of death more intricate.