Legal Medicine
Volume 12, Issue 5 , Pages 242-245 , September 2010

Unexpected death of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis complicated by a cervical deformity

  • Kana Unuma

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
    • Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo 102-8471, Japan
    • ,
  • Kazuki Harada

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Address: Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan. Tel.: +81 3 5841 3367; fax: +81 3 5841 3366.
    • ,
  • Makoto Nakajima

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
    • ,
  • Takako Ito

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
    • Department of Health Services Management and Policy, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
    • ,
  • Kosuke Okutsu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
    • ,
  • Ken-ichi Yoshida

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan

Received 15 January 2010 ,Revised 21 May 2010 ,Accepted 2 June 2010.

References 

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  2. Symmons DP. Mortality in rheumatoid arthritis. Br J Rheumatol. 1988;27:44–54
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  4. Sinclair RJG, Cruickshank B. Clinical and pathological study of 16 cases of rheumatoid arthritis with extensive visceral involvement. Quart J Med. 1956;25:313–332
  5. Paus AC, Steen H, Røislien J, et al. High mortality rate in rheumatoid arthritis with subluxation of the cervical spine: a cohort study of operated and nonoperated patients. Spine. 2008;33:2278–2283
  6. Riise T, Jacobsen BK, Gran JT. High mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and atlantoaxial subluxation. J Rheumatol. 2001;28:2425–2429
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  14. Christie GS. Pulmonary lesions in rheumatoid arthritis. J Chron Dis. 1963;16:905–914
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  16. Cornefjord M, Henriques T, Alemany M, et al. Posterior atlanto-axial fusion with the olerud cervical fixation system for odontoid fractures and C1–C2 instability in rheumatoid arthritis. Eur Spine J. 2003;12(1):91–96
  17. Riise T, Jacobsen BK, Gran JT. High mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and atlantoaxial subluxation. J Rheumatol. 2001;28(11):2425–2429
  18. Steinbrocker O, Traeger CH, Batterman RC. Therapeutic criteria in rheumatoid arthritis. J Am Med Assoc. 1949;140(8):659–662
  19. Guddat SS, Tsokos M, Schalinski S, Byard RW. Vertebral column kyphoscoliosis and unexpected death. Int J Legal Med. 2008;122:169–171
  20. Walker ML, Rosenbaum DS. Repolarization alternans: implications for the mechanism and prevention of sudden cardiac death. Cardiovasc Res. 2003;57(3):599–614
  21. Matsunaga S, Ijiri K, Koga H. Results of a longer than 10-year follow-Up of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated by occipitocervical fusion. Spine. 2000;25(14):1749–1753
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PII: S1344-6223(10)00091-X

doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2010.06.001

Legal Medicine
Volume 12, Issue 5 , Pages 242-245 , September 2010

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