Post-mortem imaging in traffic fatalities: from autopsy to reconstruction of the scene using freely available software.

CT scan coupled with autopsy is the gold standard for the forensic investigation of fatal road traffic accidents. The objective of the present paper is to demonstrate that from this, it is possible to reconstruct elements of an accident with minimal human and material resources using basic knowledge of three-dimensional imaging software. This is illustrated by a case implicating a pedestrian and a motor vehicle in which the impact areas were matched using freely available computer-aided design software.

[Hymenal examination of under age children with a context of sexual assault].

The hymeneal examination is often considered as the key of the gyneacological examination of a young girl victim of sexual assault, mainly because the concept of penetration is important under the French criminal code. However, the amount medical literature related to this topic is poor. The hymen examination must be conducted under strict conditions, by qualified personnel and as soon as possible after the alleged assault.

[Evolution and follow-up of hunger strikers: experience from an interregional hospital secured unit].

Purpose: A hunger strike is a voluntary fast, performed to protest publicly against an issue deemed unfair. In the case of French prisoners, hospitalization in an interregional hospital secured units (UHSI) may be necessary.

Methods: A retrospective epidemiological study based on one UHSI medical records was performed on the period of May, 2006 to December, 2008, and focused on symptoms, outcomes and ethical problems encountered.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in children: do not forget perinatal acquisition: a case report of a 7-year old girl, C. trachomatis infected, presumed sexually assaulted.

A 7-year old girl suspected of having been sexually abused owing to the presence of anal condyloma was found to be infected by Chlamydia trachomatis. Microbiological analysis and anamnesis were consistent with the infection having been acquired at birth. This case confirms that untreated infection acquired at birth can persist for months or years and highlights the value of examining those involved in the suspicion of sexual abuse of the child.

[Compensation for vaccination accidents].

The compensation of the inoculation accidents evolved after the law of August 9th, 2004 which stated the conditions of a complete repair of the attributable damages in a compulsory inoculation in conformance with the National Solidarity. The Office National d'Indemnisation des Accidents Médicaux, des Affections Iatrogènes et des Infections Nosocomiales (ONIAM) ensures this repair. For the not compulsory inoculations, the medical responsibility can be called only in conformance with a fault committed by the doctor.

[Intoxications specific to the Aquitaine region].

Some intoxications are more specifically linked to the Aquitaine region than to other regions of France, due to environmental circumstances (fauna, flora, climate) or traditional activities (gastronomy). Three types of intoxications are particular in this area. Pine processionary caterpillar envenomations (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), a Southern Europe pinewood parasite, are frequently encountered in the Landes' forest.

Myocardium distribution of sertindole and its metabolite dehydrosertindole in guinea-pigs.

Sertindole, like other atypical antipsychotics, has been shown to increase the action potential duration and QT interval in a concentration dependent manner, in in vitro electrophysiological studies. However, this does not always translate into increased duration of the QT interval, increased risk of torsade de pointes or sudden death in clinical practice. The reasons for these apparent discrepancies are unclear and many studies have underscored the importance of the interpretation of in vitro electrophysiological data in the context of other pharmacodynamic (e.

Spontaneous human combustion: a sometimes incomprehensible phenomenon.

Several cases of human combustion, the cause of which was not evident, have been described over the last few centuries. There are three intriguing elements to such cases. Firstly, although the body is destroyed, the immediate surroundings are left almost intact.

[Medical liability: new obligations concerning information of patients on infectious risks].

Nosocomial infections have always been considered as "unbearable" by patients and public opinion. Court decisions progressively evolved to a greater compensation until the 4 March 2002 law, "relative to the rights of patients and to the healthcare system quality" which set up a very specific protocol for liability and access to compensation, whether care is given in public or private practice. Furthermore, this law has determined new obligations concerning information of patients, especially concerning nosocomial infections which must be acknowledged by physicians.

Evaluation of three rapid detection methods for the forensic identification of seminal fluid in rape cases.

We sought to discover whether spermatozoa concentration and the delay between ejaculation and test influence the results of seminal fluid fast detection tests. Two hundred and twenty-seven anonymous samples divided into four groups (normospermia, oligospermia, azoospermia, and controls) after a semen analysis were subjected to three fast detection semen tests: Diff-Quick fast coloration, Phosphatesmo Km Paper for acid phosphatases (AP) detection, and PSA-Check 1 for prostate specific antigen (PSA) detection. The study was performed at three time points (0, 48, and 72 h).

Determination of myocardium to plasma concentration ratios of five antipsychotic drugs: comparison with their ability to induce arrhythmia and sudden death in clinical practice.

Reviewing available data shows that most of antipsychotic drugs are associated with arrhythmia and sudden death. Experimental studies have shown a HERG channel blockade, a dose-dependent increase in duration of action potential or of QT interval, with various degrees of indicators of serious arrhythmogenicity. However, it seems difficult to relate these in vitro and in vivo preclinical models to clinical findings, in part, because the relationship between concentrations used and in vivo tissue concentrations during treatment in man is not known.

Obsessive compulsive disorder secondary to head injury.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a rare sequel of head injury. There are few reports on the subject. This article presents the case of a young patient who developed OCD several years after head injury.

Postmortem findings in 22 victims due to two grain silo explosions in France.

In 1982 and 1997 there were explosions of barley-containing silos in France, one in Metz (1982) and the other in Blaye (1997). There were a total of 25 victims, including 23 fatalities (12 in Metz and 11 in Blaye). In each case there was one survivor.

Hair analysis of seven bodybuilders for anabolic steroids, ephedrine, and clenbuterol.

Several bodybuilders, all winners of international competitions, were arrested for trafficking of a number of doping agents including anabolic steroids, ephedrine, beta-adrenergics, human chorionic gonadotropin, antidepressants, and diuretics. In accordance with the recent French law against doping, the judge asked to test seven bodybuilders to identify doping practices. Hair and urine specimens were collected for analysis.

Last performance with VIAGRA: post-mortem identification of sildenafil and its metabolites in biological specimens including hair sample.

A 43-year-old man was found dead in a hotel room during a sexual relation with a colleague.He was treated both for cardiovascular disease and for erectile dysfunction with VIAGRA. A pillbox was found in the room with several tablets of verapamil (Isoptine), trimetazidine (Vastarel), yohimbine and bromazepam (Lexomil).

[Drug prescriptions outside the marketing product license and its responsibilities].

In France, drugs are commercialized after obtaining marketing approval. There are some situations however in which clinicians are authorized to prescribe drugs outside the limits set by the approval document. Clinicians must comply with certain number of regulations.

The contribution of statistics in the forensic appraisal of post-transfusion contamination by hepatitis C virus.

Many patients were contaminated by blood products in the 1980s and early 1990s, a period during which there was no means of detecting hepatitis C virus (HCV) and measures of vigilance in French blood transfusion centers were lacking in rigor, and it has become a real public health issue by now. The blood transfusion centers which produce and distribute the products are liable for such contamination, as long as the expert appraisal has established a link of causality between the transfusion and the contamination. When the viral serologic status (i.

[Medico-legal dimension of informed consent in medicine].

The practice of the medical arts is more and more becoming framed by laws and regulations. Concurrently, the civil liability in the medical field has also been deeply changed, in particular by reversing the charge of proof of the information given to the patient. After having been reminded of the place in the juridical arsenal of informed consent to a medical procedure, its value is discussed regarding the explanations given by the physicians.