Incidence of autopsy findings in unexpected deaths of children and adolescents.

Studies in various settings reveal that a significant percentage of autopsies demonstrate findings that were not previously clinically diagnosed. In the pediatric and adolescent age group, forensic examinations comprise a large percentage of total autopsies performed. We hypothesized that a similar number of previously undiagnosed findings would be present in this population and thus reviewed a series of autopsy reports from the Medical Examiners Office in the Arkansas Crime Laboratory.

Research for improving the autopsy rate for infant death--medical economic assessment of the forensic autopsy system in Japan.

The rate at which autopsies are performed in Japan for cases of infant death is not adequate for diagnosing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In Japan, it will be necessary to increase the autopsy rate at the time of infant deaths in order to improve the certainty of diagnosing SIDS and improving the accuracy of determining the cause of death with respect to infant death. The objective of this research is to provide basic documentation required for administrative implementation of this objective.

Postmortem molecular analysis of SCN5A defects in sudden infant death syndrome.

Context: Fatal arrhythmias from occult long QT syndrome may be responsible for some cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Because patients who have long QT syndrome with sodium channel gene (SCN5A) defects have an increased frequency of cardiac events during sleep, and a recent case is reported of a sporadic SCN5A mutation in an infant with near SIDS, SCN5A has emerged as the leading candidate ion channel gene for SIDS.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and functional properties of SCN5A mutations in SIDS.

The Frye hearing in Florida: an attempt to exclude scientific evidence.

State Supreme Courts require a minimum threshold of reliability and acceptance in the scientific community for all medical and similar evidence to be admitted at trial. In Florida and some other states, the courts adhere to what is known as the Frye standard, whereas in most states and in Federal Courts, it is the so-called Daubert standard. The jurisdiction of the present case is Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida.