Journal article
Paradoxical undressing associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage in a non-hypothermia case?
- Descloux E Centre Universitaire Romand de Médecine Légale, University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Chemin de la Vulliette 4, 1000, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Ducrot K Centre Universitaire Romand de Médecine Légale, University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Chemin de la Vulliette 4, 1000, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Scarpelli MP Centre Universitaire Romand de Médecine Légale, University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Chemin de la Vulliette 4, 1000, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Lobrinus A Division of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital Centre and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Palmiere C Centre Universitaire Romand de Médecine Légale, University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Chemin de la Vulliette 4, 1000, Lausanne, Switzerland. cristian.palmiere@chuv.ch.
- 2017-04-27
Published in:
- International journal of legal medicine. - 2017
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Autopsy
Death
Forensic
Hypothalamus
Paradoxical undressing
Aneurysm, Ruptured
Body Temperature Regulation
Clothing
Diagnosis, Differential
Forensic Pathology
Humans
Hypothalamus
Hypothermia
Intracranial Aneurysm
Male
Middle Aged
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
English
Paradoxical undressing is a phenomenon characterizing some fatal hypothermia cases. The victims, despite low environmental temperatures, paradoxically remove their clothes due to a sudden feeling of warmth. In this report, we describe a case of suspected paradoxical undressing in a non-hypothermia case. The victim, a 51-year-old Caucasian man, was found dead wearing only sneakers and socks. All other clothing was found in his car. Postmortem investigations allowed the hypothesis of hypothermia to be ruled out and revealed the presence of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm that caused a subarachnoid hemorrhage, the latter responsible for the death. The absence of any elements suggesting a voluntary undressing or any third party's DNA profile or involvement along with the possibility that the subarachnoid hemorrhage might have determined a hypothalamic injury, somehow rendered conceivable the hypothesis of an inappropriate feeling of warmth due to hemorrhage-induced dysregulation of the hypothalamic temperature-regulating centers.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- closed
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1007/s00414-017-1597-3
- PMID 28444440
- Persistent URL
- https://susi.usi.ch/global/documents/46695
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