Unusual gastrointestinal causes of unexpected XXXX in the elderly.

@entity1 @entity32 @entity4436 @entity944 @entity344 @entity547 @entity204
Gastrointestinal causes of @entity944 occur at all ages but are more common at the extremes of life. In the elderly quite significant disease may be present without observable symptoms and signs. Two cases of unexpected deaths due to small intestinal obstruction from unusual occult @entity547 are reported. Case 1: an 84-year-old @entity1 was found dead lying in bed at her home address. @entity204 was caused by intestinal herniation through a defect created by the greater omentum that had adhered to an area of @entity32 associated with underlying acute @entity4436 of the jejunum. Case 2: an 83-year-old @entity1 was found dead lying on the kitchen floor at her home address. @entity204 was caused by herniation of a portion of small intestine into a direct inguinal hernial sac that was occupied by an acutely inflamed appendix. These cases demonstrate two uncommon causes of intestinal herniation associated with fatal outcomes. The underlying lethal @entity344 in both @entity1 was only identified at autopsy. As mechanisms of @entity204 in such cases may involve quite complex sequences of events, careful stepwise dissection of the intraperitoneal contents may be required to enable the accurate demonstration of underlying anatomical abnormalities that have led to fatal outcomes.
