A medical case study. Have you ever heard of this type of thing?

Question

My father in law passed away last year and they never could figure out what happened to him. He was bleeding into, and out of all sorts of places. First he was being treated for kidney failure. When he was in the hospital on dialysis he burst an artery(?) in his kidney and almost died from the loss of blood. They had to replace 17 units. Later, they found blood in his spinal fluid. He was also bleeding from the rectum although when they did an endoscopy, they found no ulcers or other reasons he could have been bleeding. Finally, the thing that killed him was 2 brain hemmorages. What could this have been? The doctors are perplexed. Any ideas?

Please be kind, this is still very painful for me.

Additional Details

6 hours ago
Not hemophelia. The issue wasn't that he couldn't STOP bleeding, it was that he was bleeding into all of these wierd places to begin with.

My sweet mother in law couldn't bear the thought of an autopsy.

No, he never had a drink of alcohol in his life.

Answer 1

aww sorry for your loss. it seems he had some sort of hemorrhagic disorder.

Answer 2

I'm sorry for your loss but maybe you should convince your mother-in-law to do an autopsy because it sounds like poison whether he was accidentally exposed or not; It could be very important especially if other people are being exposed to some kind of chemical or agent that causes those kind of reactions. If she won't go for an autopsy maybe see if you can check to see if there were any similar cases in any of the local or close hospitals and try to speak with the families just to make sure there isn't a connection between the cases that might still pose a danger to others.

Answer 3

Something called DIC. Disseminated intravascular coagulation....I could try to explain it, but it would be complicated. Ironically, the treatment for this is blood thinners b/c it's basically when you have massive bleeding and clotting at the same time. Plus, it is not uncommon for the arteries used in the arm for dialysis to weaken and burst. Often times they can graft the artery but it's only a temporary fix while waiting for transplant. Im sorry for your loss....this is the only diagnosis I can think of at this time. Go to mayo.com and type it in to see if it matches what occurred.

Answer 4

I'm sorry for your loss.


I'm a medical biochemistry student and I think it could be Aneurysm-Cerebral aneurysm!
An aneurysm is an abnormal widening or ballooning of a section of a blood vessel.
some medical problems, including poly cystic kidney disease and coarctation of the aorta causes this aneurysm.
Aneurysms usually cause no symptoms unless they rupture and cause bleeding into the brain (Brain hemorrhage)

I can't be very sure about this but reading through my literature and books I thought It could be a reason.

I really suggest you post this question in health category,it would be of much help!

Take care....God's with you

Answer 5

I'm no doctor but it sounds like his BP was out of control. The kidneys mostly regulate it and if there was a problem there, the rest could have followed. Just a thought.

Answer 6

Oh man, that sounds awful. Sympathy for you and the mum-in-law. That must have been horrifying. I have never heard of such a thing, it sounds as if his blood vessels had all weakend at once, but how that could happen, I have no clue.

Answer 7

I'm sorry for your loss. Did he have some sort of aneurysm? It would have been good if an autopsy could have given you some answers so you could have closure. My sympathies to you.

Answer 8

I've seen this three times - the first two were cases of hemorrhagic fever, and the third was a case of acute radiation poisoning.

Answer 9

I would take this question over to the health section. Good luck in your quest for an answer.

Answer 10

Maybe this would be better posted in the medical catagory? I'm sorry for your loss.