Postmortem diagnosis of very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency in a neonate with sudden cardiac death

Very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency is an autosomal recessive long chain fatty acid β-oxidation disorder with a variable clinical spectrum, ranging from an acute neonatal presentation with cardiac and hepatic failure to childhood or adult onset of symptoms with hepatomegaly or rhabdomyolysis provoked by illness or exertion. Neonatal cardiac arrest or sudden unexpected death can be the presenting phenotype in some patients, emphasizing the importance of early clinical suspicion and intervention. We report a patient who had a cardiac arrest and died at one day of age. Following her death, the newborn screen reported biochemical evidence of VLCAD deficiency, which was confirmed with pathologic findings at autopsy and by molecular genetic testing.