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Background: mortality is one of the main indicators of quality in hospital care and management because it is considered a measure of the effectiveness of health intervention Objective: to determine the causes of mortality according to autopsy in the Internal Medicine and Geriatrics Services of Cienfuegos in the period 2017-2019. Methods: a descriptive-retrospective case series was carried out, of the 730 deceased patients who underwent autopsy between January 2017 and December 2019. Clinical and epidemiological variables were used. The information obtained was stored and processed in the statistical package SPSS version 21.0 for Windows. Measures of central tendency were applied to the quantitative variables, the qualitative ones were measured in index, in absolute and relative frequencies, depending on the distribution of each one of them. Results: the mean age was 75 years. Male sex predominated (57.8 %). The most represented age group was 70-79 years (28.9 %). The highest number of autopsies was performed in 2017 (37.7 %). The mean hospital stay was 8 days. The stay of less than three days predominated in the series (39.9 %). The most commonly reported causes of direct death were bronchopneumonia / pneumonia (61.3 %), then cardioangiosclerosis-pulmonary edema (13.1 %) and end-stage lung neoplasia (5.3 %). Conclusions: the most declared causes of direct death were bronchopneumonia and pneumonia. There was an adequate clinical-pathological correlation in these groups. The best levels of clinicopathological agreement were found in diseases of the central nervous system, tumors, and respiratory diseases. There was a worse correlation between digestive diseases, some infections and circulatory pathologies.

Fundamento: la mortalidad es uno de los principales indicadores de calidad en la atención y gestión hospitalaria porque se considera una medida de la efectividad de la intervención sanitaria. Objetivo: determinar las causas de mortalidad según necropsia en los Servicios de Medicina Interna y Geriatría de Cienfuegos en el en el período 2017-2019. Métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo-retrospectivo de serie de casos, de los 730 pacientes fallecidos a los que se les practicó necropsia entre enero de 2017 y diciembre de 2019. Se emplearon variables clínicas y epidemiológicas. La información obtenida se almacenó y procesó en el paquete estadístico SPSS versión 21.0 para Windows. A las variables cuantitativas se les aplicaron medidas de tendencia central y las cualitativas fueron medidas en índice, frecuencias absolutas y relativas, dependiendo de la distribución de cada una de ellas. Resultados: la media de la edad fue de 75 años. Predominó el sexo masculino (57,8 %). El grupo etáreo más representado fue 70-79 años (28,9 %). El mayor número de necropsias se realizó en el 2017 (37,7 %). La estadía hospitalaria media fue de 8 días. La estadía menor de tres días predominó en la serie (39,9 %). Las causas de muerte directa más declaradas fueron la bronconeumonía/neumonía (61,3 %), luego la cardioangioesclerosis-edema pulmonar (13,1 %) y el estadio final de neoplasia de pulmón (5,3 %). Conclusiones: las causas de muerte directa más declaradas fueron la bronconeumonía y la neumonía. Existió una adecuada correlación clínico-patológica en estos grupos. Los mejores niveles de concordancia clínico-patológica se dieron en las enfermedades del sistema nervioso central, los tumores y las patologías respiratorias. Existió una peor correlación entre las enfermedades digestivas, algunas infecciones y las patologías circulatorias.

El surgimiento y desarrollo de los métodos de estudio anatomopatológicos guarda una estrecha relación con el desarrollo científico- técnico alcanzado por la sociedad. Los métodos tradicionales empleados para el estudio anatomopatológico de las enfermedades se han enriquecido con las nuevas tecnologías, lo que ha favorecido su conocimiento más profundo, en particular el de las neoplasias, una de las primeras causas de muerte en Cuba y en el mundo. En el presente trabajo se hace una panorámica sobre el desarrollo histórico de estos diferentes métodos y su impacto en los procesos de asistencia y educación médica. Se hace una reflexión sobre la necesidad de fortalecer la formación para el uso adecuado del método clínico y para la indicación justificada e interpretación acertada de los resultados de los exámenes que, de manera tradicional, han hecho posible el diagnóstico y la valoración del pronóstico y la terapéutica, evitando de esta manera el uso irracional de otras tecnologías que encarecen la asistencia médica.

El cáncer de vesícula biliar es poco frecuente. Su pronóstico está relacionado con la detección temprana y el grado de penetración de la neoplasia en la pared vesicular. Este carcinoma presenta elevada mortalidad, por lo que realizar el diagnóstico precoz es una necesidad imperiosa. Se presenta el caso de un paciente de 81 años de edad con antecedentes patológicos personales de diabetes mellitus tipo II e hipertensión arterial bajo tratamiento regular medicamentoso. Este paciente ingresó en el Servicio de Medicina Interna pues desde hacía un mes presentaba un cuadro de aumento de volumen abdominal e ictericia generalizada, acompañada de dolor moderado en hipocondrio derecho de aparición postprandial inmediato que aliviaba con la administración de analgésicos habituales. El último mes se acompañó de vómitos escasos, astenia marcada, pérdida del apetito, disnea intensa permanente y tos húmeda con expectoración amarillenta, se constató ascitis de moderada cuantía. La gravedad del paciente no permitió avanzar en el estudio de su caso. La necropsia concluyó con diagnóstico de carcinoma primario de células escamosas de vesícula biliar, entidad esta que constituye una rareza en nuestro medio, razón por la que se realiza la presentación del caso.

Cancer in the gallbladder is infrequent. Its prognosis is related to the early detection and the degree of its penetration in the bladder wall. This carcinoma presents a high mortality therefore early diagnosis in a vital need. A case of an 81 year old patient is presented, with antecedents of type II diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure on permanent drug treatment. The patient was admitted to the internal medicine ward due to an increase of abdominal volume and generalized icterus, accompanied by a mild pain over the right hypochondria which appeared immediately after eating and relived with common analgesics. During the last month it was accompanied by a few vomits, marked asthenia, loss of appetite, intense and permanent dyspnea, and productive cough with yellowish expectoration and a moderate ascites. The severity of the illness did not allow finishing the case study. Clinical necropsy confirmed a diagnosis of primary gallbladder squamous cell carcinoma. This medical condition is an odd in our context reason for which the case is presented.

Background: the Brunner’s glands are tubular structures located in the submucosa of the duodenum. Their excessive growth does not usually give symptoms or at least they are minimum. This is known as Brunner’s gland adenoma, Hamartoma or Brunneroma. Its most frequent localization is in the first portion of the duodenum, but it is extremely strange below the ampulla of Vater. Objective: to present the clinical case of a patient with the diagnosis of Brunneroma. Clinical case: white-skinned, 72 years-old, female patient with antecedents of a 20-years duodenal ulcer who is hospitalize with diffuse pain in superior abdomen accompanied by abundant depositions like coffee powder, profuse sweating and slight loss of weight in the last month. Conclusions: Brunneroma is a not very frequent benign lesion of the duodenum; it can be discovered accidentally and in some occasions it may cause digestive hemorrhage. DeCS: BRUNNER GLANDS; HAMARTOMA; DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DISEASES; AGED; CASE REPORTS.

Metaplastic Tumors of the mammary gland are infrequent. The diagnosis should be based on studies of hematoxylin and eosin, confirmed by inmunohistochemical markers. It is a type of malignant neoplasm which includes a group of uncommon heterogeneous entities characterized by mixing a high grade invasive ductal epithelial component with a squamous or sarcomatoid component which adopts a variable phenotype. Its prognosis is worse than conventional carcinomas and is related to the tumor size, histological type, and grade of mesenquimatic component. For these reasons a case of a 63 year old patient who was diagnosed with this infrequent breast tumor that was diagnosed by inmunohistochemical techniques.

Los tumores metaplásicos de la glándula mamaria son raros. El diagnóstico debe basarse en estudios de hematoxilina y eosina, con confirmación mediante marcadores de inmunohistoquímica. Es un tipo de neoplasia maligna que incluye un grupo heterogéneo de entidades infrecuentes caracterizadas por mezclar un componente epitelial ductal invasor de alto grado con un componente escamoso o sarcomatoide que puede adoptar un fenotipo variable. Su pronóstico es peor que los carcinomas convencionales y se relaciona con el tamaño tumoral, tipo histológico, y grado de componente mesenquimático. Por tales razones se presenta el caso de una paciente de 63 años de edad, la cual fue diagnosticada con este raro tumor mamario, para cuyo diagnóstico certero se practicaron técnicas de inmunohistoquímica.

Los carcinoides son tumores neuroendocrinos de baja incidencia en la población general. Los tumores carcinoides apendiculares pueden presentarse de manera asintomática, los cuales se descubren en las biopsias de las piezas operatorias de apendicectomías. En otros casos la manifestación habitual de estos tumores es el proceso inflamatorio agudo del apéndice cecal, razón por la cual el diagnóstico definitivo se conoce solo con el informe histopatológico. Se presenta el caso de tumor carcinoide del cuerpo apendicular diagnosticado en una adolescente de 15 años intervenida quirúrgicamente por sospecha de apendicitis aguda. El interés por presentar el caso radica en su aparición poco frecuente en la adolescencia así como su localización en cuerpo o tercio medio del órgano.

Pheocromocytomas are relatively unusual tumors. They are vascularized lesions that, in the 90% of the cases produce arterial hypertension. Generally reported as solid lesions due to hyper-vascularization. They may present areas with focal or partial cystic degeneration. Although infrequent, however, pheochromocytomas with total of subtotal cystic degeneration has been reported and are called cystic Pheochromocytomas. Due to these reasons it was decided to publish the case of a male patient who died at the Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Hospital, aged 65 with a ten year personal history of arterial hypertension, gout arthritis and nausea. He came to the hospital complaining of universal cephalea and nausea. Imaging studies showed a tumorous mass in the suprarenal right gland. During admission he presented a non-cardiogenic severe pulmonary edema which caused his death. The necropsy study confirmed a cystic pheochromocytoma.

Los feocromocitomas son tumores relativamente raros. Constituyen lesiones hipervascularizadas que, en un 90% de los casos, producen hipertensión arterial. Generalmente reportadas como lesiones sólidas, debido a su hipervascularización, pueden presentar áreas con degeneración quística focal o parcial. Sin embargo, aunque infrecuentes, se han reportado feocromocitomas con degeneración quística total o subtotal y son denominados feocromocitomas quísticos. Por tales razones se decidió la publicación del caso de un paciente masculino que falleció en el Hospital Gustavo Aldereguía Lima, a los 65 años de edad, con historia personal de hipertensión arterial de 10 años de evolución, artritis gotosa desde hacía cinco años y diabetes mellitus, todas bajo tratamiento regular. Acudió a consulta por cefalea universal y náuseas. Estudios imagenológicos evidenciaron una masa tumoral en glándula suprarrenal derecha. Durante su ingreso presentó edema pulmonar severo no cardiogénico que le causó la muerte. El estudio necrósico confirmó que presentaba un feocromocitoma quístico.

Breast Invasive micro-papillary carcinoma is an aggressive and infrequent variant of breast cancer characterized by large lymphotropism and high frequency of lymph node metastases, regardless tumor size. It presents an unfavorable clinical prognosis, imaging studies do not show significant differences with the usual breast carcinomas and the immunohistochemical biomarkers expression is variable. For these reasons the case of a 52-year-old female patient is presented. She came with a hard and slightly mobile nodular mass in the upper left quadrant of the left breast. In the biopsy report it was classified as an invasive micropapillary carcinoma with lymphovascular infiltration and metastasis in eight of ten examined lymph nodes. Immunohistochemistry techniques were also performed.

Primary invasive breast papillary carcinomas are rare, accounting for approximately 1% of all malignant tumors in that organ and are characterized by occurring in postmenopausal women aged 64 to 67 years on average. We present the case of an 84 year old woman with a breast nodule whose biopsy revealed an invasive papillary carcinoma; In spite of not manifesting telorrhea and nor its location was the habitual one. It is considered a relevant case and of interest for health professionals since this uncommon mammary neoplasm is in our country and few cases have been published.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors ever known and it is a strange but very lethal form of cancer. The symptomatology that characterizes it is not specific, so it usually retards the diagnosis leading to the fact that most of the patients are diagnosed in advanced stages. This study presents the case of a 66-year-old female patient with a palpable mass in the front part of the neck, which grew very quickly and was accompanied by dysphagia, dyspnea, anorexia and weight loss. The fine-needle aspiration puncture allowed the diagnosis of an anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and surgical intervention was decided. On surgery a great thyroidal tumoral mass was observed, which macroscopically infiltrated the trachea and the esophagus making them stenosed. Exeresis of the tumor was performed and the patient recovered from dysphagia temporarily. The volume growth in the front part of the neck reappeared, as well as augmented dysphagia and dyspnea. Emergency tracheostomy was conducted keeping the patient unstable for five days. Twelve days after surgery the patient died, after suffering from a cardiorespiratory arrest of which she never recovered.

Trichilemmal carcinoma is an infrequent malignant neoplasia that arises in the skin adnexa. It usually appears around the fifth decade of life on sun-exposed areas and its origin is barely known. Due to its rare prevalence it is usually mistaken for other dermal tumors, its clinical presentation does not favor a differential diagnosis and generally this is made by exclusion. This study presents the case of a 47-year-old man with photosensitive type I skin who came to the doctor’s office with a painful nodular lesion at the end of the right eyebrow, which was surgically removed with ample surgical margins. The paraffin biopsy revealed a trichilemmal carcinoma totally resected. The literature related to this entity of difficult diagnosis and unusual presentation in our setting was reviewed.

Foundation: the human placenta is a mystery. The anatomopathological diagnosis becomes important in the search for factors that can be worked on to avoid fetal deaths. Objective: to determine the macroscopic and microscopic alterations of the placenta and its annexes in specimens from fetal deaths.Methods: a descriptive, retrospective and cross-sectional study was carried out at the Dr. Gustavo Aldereguía Lima Hospital, in Cienfuegos, from 2021 to 2023. 58 placentas and their annexes, received in the Pathological Anatomy Department, were analyzed. Macroscopic and microscopic alterations of the placenta were studied. Results: abnormally small placentas and cords were more represented (24.14 % and 63.79 % respectively); marginal cord insertion (36.21 %), ruptures, twists (8.62 %), cysts (6.90 %), edema (77.59 %), fibrinoid necrosis (72.41 %), immature villi, villitis (43.10 %), excessive number of syncytial knots (3.48 %), fibromuscular sclerosis (20.69 %), the presence of fibrin (82.76%), funisitis (29.31 %), fibromuscular sclerosis (20.69 %) and chorioamnionitis (31.03 %). Conclusions: the results showed a predominance of microscopic alterations, such as fibrin, fibrinoid necrosis and edema. Taking these factors into account, the necessary measures can be taken to avoid fetal death.