Cross-sectional study of deaths caused by pulmonary embolism necropsied on Forensic Medicine Institute of Belo Horizonte, 2008?2011.

O tromboembolismo pulmonar (TEP) se d? quando ocorre a obstru??o da art?ria pulmonar ou de seus ramos por ?mbolos geralmente provenientes da rede venosa profunda. As consequ?ncias desta obstru??o s?o potencialmente graves, mas com sintomatologia inespec?fica ou mesmo ausente, sendo de dif?cil diagn?stico cl?nico. O TEP ? importante causa de morte s?bita, al?m de ser considerado uma das principais causas de mortalidade hospitalar. Tendo em vista sua import?ncia como causa de morte e o papel que representa na Medicina Legal, este estudo teve o objetivo de analisar o perfil epidemiol?gico das mortes por TEP nas necropsias realizadas no Instituto M?dico Legal de Belo Horizonte (IML/BH) no per?odo entre 2008 e 2011. Foram analisados 94 casos de TEP como causa da morte no per?odo estudado. As caracter?sticas predominantes dos necropsiados foram sexo masculino, faixa et?ria igual ou superior a 40 anos, cor de pele morena, estado civil solteiro, e ativos do ponto de vista ocupacional. Na maioria dos casos o diagn?stico foi feito pela combina??o de exames macro e microsc?picos do cora??o e dos pulm?es. A maioria dos casos n?o se relacionava a trauma pr?vio. Nos casos de TEP p?s-trauma, os membros foram a principal parte do corpo lesionada e o acidente de tr?nsito foi a circunst?ncia de trauma mais prevalente. Como o TEP ? uma situa??o de dif?cil diagn?stico cl?nico e de alta taxa de mortalidade, o n?mero de ?bitos por essa causa ? subestimado, ressaltando a import?ncia de estudos envolvendo autopsias que objetivam uma melhor compreens?o desta doen?a.Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) occurs when obstruction of the pulmonary artery or its branches occurs with clots generally formed in the deep venous network. The consequences of this obstruction are potentially serious, but with nonspecific or even absent symptoms, being difficult to diagnose clinically. PTE is an important cause of sudden death, besides being considered a major cause of hospital mortality. Considering its importance as a cause of death and its role in Forensic Medicine, this study had the aim to analyze the epidemiological profile of PTE deaths at necropsies performed at the Forensic Medicine Institute of Belo Horizonte (FMI-BH) in the period between 2008 and 2011. We analyzed 94 cases of PTE as cause of death in the period studied. The predominant characteristics of necropsies were male sex, age group of 40 years or older, brown skin color, single marital status, and occupationally active. In most cases the diagnosis was made by combining macro and microscopic examination of the heart and lungs. Most cases were not related to prior trauma. In cases of post-trauma PTE, the limbs were the main part of the body affected and the traffic accidents were the most prevalent trauma circumstance. As PTE is a situation of difficult clinical diagnosis and a high mortality rate, the number of related deaths is underestimated, emphasizing the importance of studies involving autopsies in order to better understand this disease