Abstract
Many patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) present with digestive symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal bloating. The causes of these symptoms are many-varied, and appropriate diagnosis and treatment methods are needed. We hereby report on a 33-year-old woman with SMID who died suddenly about one day after onset of nausea and abdominal bloating. She was confirmed to have abdominal bloating, dehydration, increased inflammatory response, multiple organ failure, mixed acidosis and hyperamylasemia. Abdominal x-rays confirmed distension due to the accumulation of air in the stomach and lower right intestinal tract. Autopsy revealed the main cause of death to be acute necrotizing pancreatitis and peritonitis. The suspected causes of pancreatitis were valproic acid drug-induced symptoms and gastric dilatation due to laryngotracheal separation surgery and fundoplication and gastrostomy surgery. These surgeries are being performed on an increasing number of patients in recent years, and the above potential complications should be noted.
