Postmortem forensic imaging: An essential tool in contentious cases

Background: Traditional autopsy (TA) is employed towards determining the cause and manner of death. Over the last decade, virtual autopsy (VA), involving the application of forensic imaging techniques have gained prominence and, with great precision in developed countries. Aim: This is to compare the findings at post-mortem using forensic imaging techniques and, those of TA. Materials and Methods: Post-mortem CT-Scan and MRI techniques were employed in the present case and for the first time in Nigeria, to identify the fatal injuries and determine their causation. The examination was done prior to the TA; the latter was done by a team of pathologists without the prior knowledge of the imaging findings. The results, using both methods, were subsequently compared. Results: Most of the VA and TA findings were the same except for the areas that were not readily accessible to the pathology team because of prior embalmment of the body. The inexperience of the radiologist in the area of post-mortem forensic imaging also contributed to the few discrepancies. Conclusion: This is the first virtopsy to be conducted in Nigeria and, with impressive results. The findings compare favourably with those of TA and, have the added advantage of identifying minor injuries that might easily be missed using TA method. Success is however hinged on the expertise of the forensic radiologist and forensic pathologist. While VA can be employed to solve the problems of religious opposition to TA, the cost of the former is astronomical

Human bites as a weapon of violence: how common are they and do they constitute a significant medical evidence?

Objective: To document the pattern of HBM seen in police clinic Benin City Nigeria.Methods: This is a review of all the human bite mark (HBM) seen at the police clinic.Results:HBM were seen in 68 cases of assault and included 90 separate bites. The youngest victim was 10 years old while the oldest was 59 years with a mean age of 31.9±9.68. Age group 30-39 years accounted for most cases. Female victims were more in number both as victims and as assailants. About 94.1% of the assailants were known. The major events that lead to the use of human bite(HB) were quarrel and fights which accounted for 98.5% of cases.HB was mainly used in conjunction with other weapons. About 77.9% of the HB had single bite marks while complete tissue avulsion were seen in 1.5% of cases. The arm was the commonest site (17.8%), closely followed by the fingers (15.6%).Conclusion: This will serve as a baseline data in Nigeria, while we strongly advocate the development of a proforma for HBM examination following ABFO guideline and HIV PEP for victims with grade 4 HBM and above

Childhood mortality in federal medical centre umuahia, South Eastern Nigeria

This study aimed to evaluate the mortality pattern in children seen at Federal Medical Centre Umuahia [FMCU] Abia state, South Eastern Nigeria. A retrospective cross sectional descriptive study over a 5-year period from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2008 using data retrieved from the hospital's medical records department. A total of 3,814 children were admitted in the hospital and 434 of them died giving a mortality rate of 11% The mean age was 17 [Std D of 319] Two hundred and thirty eight of them were males while 196 of them were females giving a sex ratio df 12:1 Majority of the mortality [49%] occurred within 24 hours of admission The major causes of death during neonatal period were birth asphyxia [34%], prematurity [24%] and neonatal sepsis [24%] Malaria was the leading cause of death beyond the neonatal period accounting for 42% of cases Other common mortality causes were pneumonia, septicaemia, diarrhea, HIV AIDS and meningitis each accounting for 10%, 10%, 7%, 7% and 5% respectively The months of July, May and March accounted for most deaths [12%, 12% and 11% respectively]. Birth asphyxia and malaria associated deaths were responsible for most deaths during neonatal and beyond neonatal periods respectively Presence of trained personal at all deliveries will help to reduce neonatal asphyxia Efforts should be made to reinforce the existing effective malaria control tools