A rare case of pulmonary bone fragment embolism - A case report

Bone fragment embolism (BFE) is a type of osseous related non-thrombotic pulmonary embolism (NTPE). Most commonly an incidental finding & usually does not cause death. We report a case of an 85-year-old woman who came with history of road traffic accident, with open right radius segmental shaft fracture for which debridement and K wire fixation was done but succumbed to complications. On postmortem and histo-pathological examination pulmonary bone fragment embolism was seen. Bone fragment embolism is most commonly an incidental finding and it is usually overlooked when there is no major trauma involved. It is seen in cases with trauma to bones, bone marrow transplantation, orthopaedic procedures and trauma to diseased bones. BFE is a tell-tale sign of past traumatic injury. In the absence of other causes and even in the absence of a massive traumatic event, BFE should be kept in mind before issuing a cause of death.