Death due to blood transfusion-induced anaphylactic shock: A case report

Abstract 

In medical practice, many clinical accidents due to blood transfusion reactions have been reported, among which, nonhemolytic transfusion reactions (NHTRs) have been mainly reported in recent years. NHTRs induce reactions such as anaphylactic shock and transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI); however, few forensic autopsy case reports with blood transfusion reactions including anaphylactic shock have been published.

A marker for anaphylactic shock is serum tryptase, which indicates systematic mast cell activation in living patients. In forensic medicine, serum tryptase has been used in the postmortem diagnosis of anaphylactic shock. In this autopsy case report, the blood tryptase level was elevated to 49.0ng/mL (reference standard level <13.5ng/mL). When considered comprehensively with autopsy findings and blood typing, we concluded that this patient was suspected to have suffered from anaphylactic shock as a result of blood transfusion.

Keywords: Nonhemolytic transfusion reaction (NHTR), Anaphylactic shock, Serum tryptase