Tension hydrothorax complicating syringopleural shunt for post-traumatic syringomyelia.

Syringomyelia is a rare phenomenon that is typically associated with Chiari malformations. However, they can occur in the setting of post-traumatic spinal injury. Potential diversion treatments include syringopleural (SPS), syringoperitoneal and syringosubarachnoid shunts.

A retrospective review of methylamphetamine detected in child deaths reported to the Victorian Coroner, Australia.

This study investigated methylamphetamine (MA) exposures in the deaths of children (≤ 12 years old) reported to the Coroner in the state of Victoria, Australia, between 2011 and 2020. Demographics, autopsy findings including the cause of death, self-reported prenatal or caregiver drug use, child protection services information, and toxicological findings were summarized by descriptive statistics. Validated methods of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were used in the analysis of drugs.

Death from pulmonary embolism of cyanoacrylate glue following gastric varix endoscopic injection.

We present the case of a 25 year old woman with a complex past medical history including Crigler-Najjar syndrome (Type 1) with a liver transplant in 1993 and subsequent development of cirrhosis with portal hypertension in the transplanted liver. The deceased presented to hospital with hematemesis and investigations showed a large gastric varix. The varix was injected with cyanoacrylate glue.

Fatal acute poisonings in Australian children (2003-13).

Background And Aims: Fatal poisonings in children comprise a small proportion of cases investigated by an Australian coroner; however, they present a major opportunity for death prevention. This study aimed to examine fatal child poisonings in Australia to (1) estimate the rate of acute poisoning deaths in children; (2) describe the key characteristics of the cohort; and (3) describe the outcomes of coronial recommendations made as a death prevention measure.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Sudden Death Due to Undiagnosed Wilkie Syndrome.

A 56-year-old transgender woman with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and strokelike episodes syndrome and diabetes presented to hospital with headaches and experiencing with malnutrition. She was agitated and refused medical and physical assistance. Soon after admission, she started to vomit and developed abdominal pain, becoming rapidly unresponsive on the ward after attending the radiology department, and was pronounced deceased.

Natural death in the setting of autoerotic practice.

Deaths in an autoerotic setting are usually due to accidental asphyxia, in which the individual accidently hangs or strangles themselves while inducing hypoxia for the purpose of heightened arousal. Death occurs when the level of hypoxia causes the individual to lose consciousness and is thus unable to prevent the neck compression from becoming lethal. In some cases there is an "escape" mechanism incorporated into the set-up which may fail.

Determining Live Birth: An Unusual Case.

Twins of unknown gestational age were delivered prematurely at home, placed in a bin bag, and hidden in a drawer. They were discovered several hours later after the mother presented to a hospital with postpartum hemorrhage. Autopsy took place after postmortem computed tomographic scans and full skeletal surveys were performed.

Can forensic pathologists diagnose pulmonary thromboembolism on postmortem computed tomography pulmonary angiography?

Postmortem computed tomography (CT) scanning is a routine examination in the medicolegal death investigation of every deceased person admitted to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. Pulmonary CT angiography is a standard clinical investigation for suspected pulmonary thromboembolism. To the best of our knowledge, a study of postmortem CT pulmonary angiography has not been previously reported in the English-speaking forensic literature.

Duret hemorrhage: demonstration of ruptured paramedian pontine branches of the basilar artery on minimally invasive, whole body postmortem CT angiography.

A 25 year old male died suddenly and unexpectedly. Postmortem CT scanning revealed marked raised intracranial pressure with brainstem compression due to subarachnoid, subdural and parenchymal hemorrhage. A hyperdense mass at the termination of the right internal carotid artery was thought to represent an aneurysm.