Arteriocolic fistulae due to a stab wound: a rare cause of lethal lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

The authors describe the first reported case of lethal lower gastrointestinal bleeding due to an iliocolic fistulae following a single stab wound. They also discuss the pathophysiology of the enterovacscular fistulae, as well as a review of the literature and assess forensic characteristics. This unusual case underlines the importance of being aware of the victim's history in arteriocolic fistulae due to a stab wound.

Sudden death from a "broken heart" in a young woman.

A case of ruptured myocardial infarct in a young woman with no previous medical history is presented, as well as a review of the literature and forensic aspects are discussed.

Lethal paradoxical cerebral vein thrombosis due to suspicious anticoagulant rodenticide intoxication with chlorophacinone.

Superwarfarin exposure is a growing health problem, described in many countries. The authors report a case of suspicious chlorophacinone poisoning with a problematic diagnosis. They review the literature and discuss particularities of anticoagulant rodenticide intoxication, as well as the apparent contradiction between anticoagulant intoxication and lethal thrombosis.

Fatal and non-fatal bilateral delayed carotid artery dissection after manual strangulation.

Carotid artery (CA) dissection and/or thrombosis may occur in a number of medical and forensic relevant situations. However, post traumatic carotid artery dissection is considered rare, and often underestimated due to possible delayed presentation. We describe two cases of carotid artery dissection following strangulation with delayed symptoms as well as discuss medical diagnostic problems and their forensic implications.

[Inductively coupled plasma and clinical biology. Toxicological applications]. / Intérêt de la torche à plasma en biologie clinique. Quelles applications en toxicologie?

The multi-elementary quantitation method using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been widely developed for use with biological fluids. Many elements can be quantified simultaneously in biological fluids, including: Li, Be, B, Al, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, Pd, Cd, Sn, Sb, Te, Ba, W, Pt, Hg, Tl, Pb, Bi, U. The validation procedure is described by the French Society of Clinical Biology. Results for urine are corrected after creatinine determination. We report applications in clinical toxicology and forensic toxicology. Advances in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in the field of clinical biology are particularly important for toxicological analysis. This powerful tool is helpful for better patient care and for the search for cause of death.

Fatal overdoses of tramadol: is benzodiazepine a risk factor of lethality?

Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic agent used in the treatment of mild to moderate pain. It has a low affinity to opioid receptors and inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrin and serotonin producing an analgesic action by blocking nociceptive impulses in the spine. Although 21 drug-combined fatalities including tramadol have been reported, only two fatal overdoses in adults with tramadol alone have been reported to date. We report four additional lethal intoxications, assess the toxicity of tramadol, the detection method and the possible interaction with other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, particularly benzodiazepines. Similarities between tramadol and buprenorphine are discussed, and a possible cytochrome P450-based interaction between tramadol and benzodiazepine is considered. To our knowledge, this relationship has never been reported in the literature.

Giant cervical epidural veins after lumbar puncture in a case of intracranial hypotension.

A 29-year-old woman presented with dilated epidural veins and incapacitating headache after undergoing a lumbar puncture. Two months later, the results of follow-up MR imaging were normal. These findings suggest that temporary dilation of the epidural vein may occur in association with post-lumbar puncture intracranial hypotension syndrome. In these cases, it seems useful to confirm whether the patient has recently undergone a lumbar puncture.

Toxicological analysis in agitated patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the toxicological etiologies in agitated patients and to evaluate their initial clinical diagnosis in the light of toxicological results analysis. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. SETTING: Emergency Department (ED) in a 2,650-bed University Hospital. PATIENTS: Fifty-eight consecutively enrolled patients admitted to the ED in agitated states over a 6-month period. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: All patients underwent laboratory tests including blood glucose, ethanol and serum drug screening. Toxicology tests were conducted by fluorescence polarization immunoassay and confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography/diode array detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The physician's initial diagnosis was evaluated in the light of toxicological analysis results. Serum toxicological analysis revealed that 50/58 patients were under the influence of alcohol and/or a drug. Benzodiazepines (22/58), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (5/58) and opiates (4/58) were the most frequently observed. The initial clinical diagnosis was alcohol intoxication in 39 patients, although 1 patient was not under the influence of alcohol and 16 also had benzodiazepine in their sera. Moreover, the diagnosis of serotonin syndrome was overlooked in two patients. CONCLUSION: Most agitated patients were under the influence of alcohol and/or a drug. Benzodiazepine alone or in association with alcohol was surprisingly frequent. A serotonin syndrome may explain the agitation state.