An unusual presentation of sudden death of a non- lactating female with mastitis

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Sudden death of a young female within a short duration of illness needs a proper death investigation to ascertain the cause, mechanism and manner of death. It is mandatory to have a medico-legal investigation into such deaths in order to rule out or confirm such doubts. A young, non-lactating female with a history of drug abuse was pronounced dead within a few hours of admission to the Emergency Department. The clinico-pathological correlation confirmed the cause of death as severe sepsis following acute mastitis due to Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogens infection. The manner of death was deemed natural. Due to the delicate nature of the breast tissue, prompt and appropriate management of breast infections is reiterated. Severe sepsis caused by acute mastitis is one of the rare outcomes that may be discovered at autopsy. We report the importance of comprehensive forensic autopsy including ancillary investigations in a case of sudden death of a non-lactating female.