Criminal Investigation According to the Case Study 4, a 57 year old male was admitted in the evening with severe breathlessness. Despite he was given oxygen, he collapse suddenly and died by the next morning. During the questioning it was found out that the patient has been feeling bad for approximately four weeks. He suffered from exertional dyspnoea, increasing cough and wheezing. These symptoms became more severe and for the last week the patient faced difficulties with walking. He lost weight over the last weeks, but prior to this the patients wife told him that he was already too skinny, so that his weight might fell over the six months previously.
He was an ex-smoker with a smoking history of 30 pack-years (nu. of packets smoked per day multiplied by number of years smoked) and drank about 2 pints of cider one time a week. The results of examination showed the following. Chest x-ray showed a diffuse ground-glass shadowing and a possible mediastinal mass near hilum of left lung. According to respiratory function tests, there was a restrictive pattern of reduced lung volume. The patients death was caused by the large loss of blood, due to a sudden cardiovascular collapse associated with massive haemoptysis.
The Cause of Death: Massive haemoptysis.
