Vitreous humour as an alternative material for the determination of alcohol concentration in human corpses.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to assess the suitability of vitreous humour (VH) for determining alcoholaemia in deceased bodies. The study presents a correlation between the content of ethyl alcohol in vitreous humour and the concentration of ethyl alcohol in venous blood (femoral blood - FB). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study material consisted of blood and vitreous humour samples taken from 62 individuals who died in the period 2012-2016 and whose post-mortem examinations were carried out at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok. The content of alcohol was determined using the method of gas chromatography (GC). The findings of the study were analyzed statistically with MF Excel and Statistica 12.5, and then presented in a descriptive form, including figures and charts. RESULTS: Statistical analysis did not reveal significant differences between the concentration of ethanol in VH and FB. Spearman's correlation between the concentration of ethanol in the materials under study was r = 0.96, p < 0.01. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated no statistically significant differences between the concentration of alcohol in VH and in FB. Consequently, vitreous humour can be used as a reliable alternative material in cases where there is no possibility of collecting venous blood for toxicological tests.

Analysis of suicide cases in post-mortem examination files of the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Bialystok (2003 to 2015).

Aim of the study: The study presents the analysis of suicides based on the material consisting of the results of medico-legal autopsies and case files of the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Medical University of Bialystok. Material and methods: The material consisted of 6752 protocols of medico-legal autopsies carried out in the years 2003-2015 and case files, which enabled to classify cases as suicidal. The analysis included the dynamics of suicides over the years, basic demographic characteristics of victims, the ways, the time and place of suicide, the state of sobriety, the frequency of injuries in different regions of the body. The data were analyzed statistically using tests such as: Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test, nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test by programme Statistica 10.0 by StatSoft. Results: The research showed that suicides represented 11.09% of all post-mortem examinations. A statistically significant association was found between the age of the person committing suicide and the place chosen for suicide (p = 0.038). Post hoc analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences (p = 0.046) between suicide committed outdoors and in the supervised area. There was a statistically significant association between the sex and the preferable place of committing suicide (p = 0.0001). A high percentage of suicides were committed in the place of residence. There was a statistically significant difference in blood alcohol levels in women and in men at the time of suicide (p = 0.0029). Conclusions: The study revealed the increase of the percentage of suicides in relation to previous years. Hanging is still the most popular method of suicide.

An Unusual Medicolegal Case of 32-Year-Old Mother and Her 29-Week Fetus With Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes, and Low Platelet Count Syndrome: Case Report and Short Literature Review.

Forensic medicine experts are well aware of blunt abdominal trauma, which often lead to death because of serious internal organ injury with severe blood loss. Sometimes careful examination of such cases may reveal some other underlying conditions, such as an existing disease that had contributed to the death or life-threatening complications. Our article presents a rare case of spontaneous hepatic rupture and intraperitoneal hemorrhage in a 32-year-old primigravida and her 29-week fetus, which was a result of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count syndrome. The said syndrome is a life-threatening obstetric complication usually considered to be a variant or complication of pre-eclampsia, which is characterized by hemolysis with microangiopathy, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count.