Subject(s)
Air Bags/adverse effects , Occipital Bone/injuries , Accidents, Traffic/mortality , Adult , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Sudden death is the most common manifestation of myocardial sarcoidosis, which is often clinically silent. The disease is rarely encountered in forensic medicine, but the diagnosis is important because it may change the interpretation of the manner of death and thus have insurance implications. Six cases of myocardial sarcoidosis diagnosed at autopsy are reported, and the significance of the findings is discussed.
Subject(s)
Cardiomyopathies/diagnosis , Forensic Medicine/methods , Sarcoidosis/diagnosis , Adult , Cardiomyopathies/complications , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology , Female , Granuloma, Giant Cell/pathology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Myocardium/pathology , Sarcoidosis/complicationsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate measurements of human body composition using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and to assess its precision and variations within and between observers as well as the influence of food and fluid intake. DESIGN: Experimental study. SETTING: District hospital, Denmark. SUBJECTS: 17 volunteers, 12 male and 5 female. INTERVENTIONS: Repeated scans under standard conditions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Precision, variations within and between observers, and influence of the degree of hydration. RESULTS: The repeatability coefficients and the coefficients of variation (CV) were obtained for the four body compartments: tissue mass 416 g (CV 0.2%); fat mass 1117 g (CV 2.6%); lean tissue mass 1425 g (CV 0.9%), and total bone mineral content, (BMC) 109 g (CV 1.2%). There was no significant intraobserver variation. There was little interobserver variation in assessing tissue mass and BMC, but there were significant differences when judging fat and lean tissue mass. Drinking resulted in significantly increased values for tissue and lean tissue mass, which corresponded to the intake. CONCLUSION: DXA is precise and reproducible with little variation within and between observers. It might be useful in clinical studies.
Subject(s)
Absorptiometry, Photon , Body Composition , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Observer Variation , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
We examined the value of post-mortem radiological examination of infants who were brought in for medico-legal autopsy. Twenty children between the age of 1 month and 15 months died under the picture of SIDS. No radiological or other signs of previous child abuse were seen in our autopsy material. A fatal case of child abuse with several metaphyseal fractures is reported. Some fractures were not visible on gross examination, but could be demonstrated by radiography and histology. In our material no association between SIDS and child abuse was found. In suspected cases of child abuse, particularly rib fractures and metaphyseal fractures should be sought. We recommend that post-mortem radiography is performed in such cases. If fractures are demonstrated, they should be verified by histologic examination.
