T-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma, an Unexpected Cause of Sudden Death

Sudden unexpected death due to undiagnosed hematological malignancy is a rare cause of death with only few case reports available in the literature. We report a case of sudden death of a 16 year old asymptomatic boy with no significant past medical history. Suspecting foul play, and death due to blunt trauma, autopsy was carried out which lead to the diagnosis of T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma. The cause of death was attributed to intracerebral hemorrhage.

This case highlights the importance of considering hematological malignancies in the differential diagnosis in cases of sudden death with evidence of unexplained hemorrhagic diathesis and emphasizes on the value of routinely collecting peripheral blood/bone marrow samples in EDTA during an autopsy to enable accurate diagnosis.