The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 
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This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.Severe Myocardial Steatosis: Incidental Finding or a Significant Anatomic Substrate for Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
Myocardial steatosis, also known as lipomatosis cordis, is characterized by adipose tissue within the myocardium without significant fibrosis. Evidence suggests that accumulation of fat can disturb the normal electromechanical physiology of the myocardium. Herein, we discuss the case of a 60-year-old woman with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who died because of anoxic encephalopathy after a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). An electrocardiogram showed QRS fragmentation noted as notched R in inferior leads. The autopsy revealed a very small thromboembolus in a distal subsegmental branch of the pulmonary arter...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Anterior Tricuspid Leaflet Cleft in an Adult Male: An Autopsy Case Report
The deceased was a 44-year-old male who was treated for a suspected Ebstein's anomaly observed using transthoracic echocardiogram. He was found dead in his bed at home. Autopsy revealed that the septal tricuspid leaflet was intact; however, a large anterior tricuspid leaflet cleft and right atrioventricular cavity dilation were observed. Pathological examination revealed a normal tricuspid valve, except for the presence of a cleft with local fibrosis of the left ventricle papillary muscle and hemosiderin-containing macrophages at both lungs. There were no other abnormalities that may have led to death. It was concluded tha...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Right Ventricle Rupture After Open Heart Surgery
We report a unique complication of median sternotomy. A 71-year-old man underwent coronary artery bypass grafting complicated by sternal dehiscence on postoperative day 7. One week after discharge, he presented with purulent drainage from the sternal wound bed and was diagnosed as having mediastinitis. Irrigation, debridement, and sternal reconstruction were performed. Two days later, bleeding was observed in the wound, and during surgical exploration, a tear in the right ventricle was discovered, and the patient exsanguinated and died. Autopsy findings included focal adhesions connecting the posterior sternum to the right...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Thymus Involution and Intravenous Drug Abuse
Thymus glands from 283 autopsy cases were sampled and evaluated with histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. A subpopulation of 41 intravenous drug addicts were compared with age-matched control cases.
It was found that an accelerated involution of the thymus occurred in the 20- to 25-year interval and thereafter with a steady pace of 5% per year. Also the size of Hassall bodies declined successively.
In drug addicts, an increased dystrophic calcification of the Hassall bodies and a significant difference in thymus size (atrophy) compared with controls were seen. Moreover, a difference was seen in the relative num...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Media-Based Research on Selfie-Related Deaths in Italy
Conclusions
Selfie-related deaths in Italy appear to be an issue and appear to be increasing. Particularly, male teenagers and young adults are at high risk for selfie-related deaths. Measures should be taken to reduce their incidence. (Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology)
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
An 8-Year Retrospective Study on Suicides in Washington, DC
In this study performed over 8 years (2009–2016), 394 suicides occurred. It was found that decedents committed suicide mostly by hanging (31.2%), firearms (20.3%), or drug intoxication (15.7%). The average age was 44.5 years. Similar to national statistics, male individuals committed suicide at a higher rate (77.9%) than did female individuals (22.1%). The toxicology data showed that ethanol (26.4%), antidepressants (20.1%), opioids (14.9%), and benzodiazepines (12.9%) were the drugs most frequently involved, although the finding of no drugs was most common (33.7%). Ethanol was present in 5 methods of suicide that includ...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Death Certification in Northern Alberta: Error Occurrence Rate and Educational Intervention
Errors in death certification can directly affect the decedent's survivors and the public register. We assessed the effectiveness of an educational seminar targeting frequent and important errors identified by local death certificate (DC) evaluation. Retrospective review of 1500 DCs categorized errors and physician specialty. A 60-minute didactic/case-based seminar was subsequently designed for family medicine physician (FAM) participants, with administration of presurvey, immediate post, and 2-month postsurveys. Most DCs were completed by FAM (73%), followed by internists (18%) and surgeons (3%). Error occurrence (EO) rat...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
The Relationship of Injury and Complaints of Police Use of Excessive Force
Use of excessive force (UOEF) is an important and controversial topic but little is known about how injury severity is related to allegations of UOEF. We hypothesized that such complaints would be associated with more significant traumatic injuries. Emergency department records were searched for all individuals making UOEF complaints against an urban police department from 2010 to 2012. Demographic, diagnosis, and other medical data, including Injury Severity Score, were obtained. From police records, force used, suspect resistance and threat, and other call data were obtained. The same data were collected for a control gr...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Gross and Histopathological Findings in the First Reported Vaping-Induced Lung Injury Death in the United States
The popularity of e-cigarettes (vaping) has been on the rise in recent years, but the adverse effects of vaping have been greatly unknown. In 2019, the use of vaping products has been linked to an outbreak of severe lung disease, some cases of which have progressed to death. One death attributed to vaping is presented with emphasis on the gross and histopathological findings from the autopsy. These findings were correlated with the patient's clinical course and medicolegal investigation to determine the cause of death. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed death in the United States that was directly attributed to ...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - February 7, 2020 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Unexpected Infant Death Due to Undiagnosed Biliary Atresia: A Case of Fatal Neglect
Biliary atresia (BA) is a fatal condition resulting in the lack of effective biliary drainage leading invariably to liver failure and cirrhosis within a year, and it is often lethal within a few months in the absence of corrective surgery or liver transplantation. In fact, BA is the most common indication for pediatric liver transplantation.
Herein, we present a rare case of unexpected infant death due to BA diagnosed only postmortem in a context of child neglect and carelessness on the part of the parents. It emerged from the clinical history that after a few months, the parents no longer took their daughter to any medic...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - November 16, 2019 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Death by Wheat-Loaded Cartridge: A Case Report
The materials used to produce shotgun ammunition can have different properties depending on the purpose, and ammunition can be fabricated or loaded manually. In Turkey, wheat-loaded cartridges are manufactured for use as sound cartridges. This ammunition is understood by the public to be harmless. However, we present a case of a 13-year-old adolescent boy who was wounded from a contact shot to the chest. An entrance wound measuring 7 cm and 5 cm in diameter was seen on the skin. Wheat grains could not be detected in the internal organs and were only observed between the chest muscles around the entrance wound. A plastic wa...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - November 16, 2019 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Death Related to Elective Nasal Polypectomy: Case Report
We present a case of an otherwise healthy 58-year-old woman with multiple nasal polyps who underwent nasal polypectomy. The operation was initially considered successful. However, the patient had never recovered from general anesthesia and was declared deceased 24 hours after the surgery.
The autopsy revealed a basilar subarachnoid hemorrhage. The examination of the basilar skull showed a perforation of approximately 15 by 7 mm in the right cribriform plate. Above the bone perforation, there was a disruption of the dura and a 20-mm-long penetrating wound within the right frontal lobe parenchyma of the brain, with associat...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - November 16, 2019 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Perinephric Fat Stranding on Postmortem Computed Tomography Scan in Acute Pyelonephritis: A Case Report
We present a death from acute pyelonephritis in a setting of hypertensive heart disease, in which the unenhanced PMCT performed before postmortem examination was able to show florid bilateral perinephric fat stranding. This PMCT finding subsequently guided the pathologist to pay special attention to the kidney and take appropriate microbiology specimens to confirm the diagnosis. Perinephric fat stranding on PMCT may be a useful sign to alert the pathologist to consider acute pyelonephritis during the postmortem examination. (Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology)
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - November 16, 2019 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Fatal Rupture of Brachial Pseudoaneurysm in a Drug Abuser: Case Report and Review of the Literature
We present fatal hemorrhagic shock in a heroin-cocaine abuser subsequent to rupture of pseudoaneurysm of the brachial artery; the man collapsed just before injecting himself with a dose of heroin-cocaine (speedball). (Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology)
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - November 16, 2019 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Fatal Acute Intracranial Subdural Hematoma After Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery: Case Report and Review of the Literature
The authors report on the autopsy case of a 40-year-old primigravida without either coagulation disorders or anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy, who developed a fatal intracranial subdural hematoma after spinal anesthesia (SA) for elective cesarean delivery for tocophobia.
Intracranial subdural hematoma is the most dreaded complication of SA and is often misdiagnosed with postdural puncture headache.
In this article, the authors discuss pathophysiological mechanisms and risk factors for the development of an intracranial subdural hematoma after SA and review the pertinent literature. (Source: The American Journal of Fore...
Source: The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology - November 16, 2019 Category: Forensic Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
