The aim of the present study was to examine the factors that contribute to the postmortem lung weight in acute fire fatalities (n=149) including those with lower (<60%) and higher (>60%) blood carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels (n=94 and 55, respectively). The control groups consisted of acute myocardial infarction/ischemia (AMI, n=99) and mechanical asphyxiation (n=85). For all cases (n=333), the lung and heart weights were independent of the postmortem time (4.5-72 h) and charring of the body. The combined weight of both lobes of the lung showed a significant gender difference (males>females, P<0.001), negative regression with respect to age (R=0.167, P<0.01) and positive regression with respect to heart weight (R=0.316, P<0.001). The gender difference was also significant for each cause of death even after being corrected using body height measurements. When the lung-heart weight ratio was estimated to diminish the influence of possible cardiogenic factors, the gender difference was insignificant for each cause of death among the non-elderly (<60 years of age). However, for elderly fire fatalities (>60 years of age), there was a gender difference (males>females) for the lower COHb group (P<0.05) and higher COHb group (P<0.001). A significant age-dependent difference (non-elderly>elderly) in the lung-heart weight ratio was observed for fire fatalities with a lower COHb and AMI among males and for fire fatalities with a higher COHb among females. Such gender- and/or age-dependent influences were not significant for fatal mechanical asphyxiation. These findings suggest that a person's heart weight may be a possible contributory factor to an increase in the lung weight in acute death, and that gender- and/or age-dependent susceptibilities may be additional factors that contribute to fire fatalities and AMI. In addition, elderly females appear to be most susceptible among fire casualties, and extreme cardiomegaly may also be a potential fatal risk factor.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.legalmed.2004.10.007DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

postmortem lung
8
lung weight
8
fire fatalities
8
factors contributing
4
contributing postmortem
4
lung
4
weight fire
4
fatalities aim
4
aim study
4
study examine
4

Similar Publications

Introduction: Recent advances in the treatment of -mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have led to the development of KRAS inhibitors, such as sotorasib and adagrasib. However, resistance and disease progression remain significant challenges. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of combining trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), an anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugate, with sotorasib in -mutant NSCLC, while also evaluating HER2 expression in NSCLC samples.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systemic calcinosis in horses: Pathological and genetic aspects.

Equine Vet J

January 2025

Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

Background: In horses, systemic calcinosis is a rare syndrome characterised by muscle lesion associated with the mineralisation of large muscle groups or other organs, in the absence of an alternative cause for the calcification, such as toxic, enzootic or metabolic. Molecular and histopathological aspects of the disease are still poorly elucidated.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiological, pathological and molecular aspects of systemic calcinosis in a convenience sample of six horses submitted to necropsy in the Southern and Midwestern regions of Brazil.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A 55-year-old man with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) was diagnosed with left renal angiomyolipoma (AML), a group of perivascular epithelioid cell tumors called PEComas. He had received the mTOR inhibitor everolimus, which resulted in a complete response. However, a left renal mass relapsed in two years, followed by the occurrence of a hepatic mass five months later.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Myocardial infection by Mycobacterium: a case report].

Zhonghua Jie He He Hu Xi Za Zhi

January 2025

Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan430030, China.

Mycobacterial infections of the cardiovascular system are rare and only a few reports provide detailed pathological information. This report presented a rare case of asymptomatic myocardial mycobacterial infection identified at autopsy. The patient died from pulmonary thromboembolism.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a common complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, it is rare after solid organ transplantation (SOT) or blood transfusion. We present a rare case of SOT-derived and/or transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD) in a 66-year-old man with interstitial lung disease who underwent bilateral lung transplantation (LT) from a 12-year-old female donor and required three units of packed red blood cells intraoperatively. He presented with signs and symptoms consistent with GVHD, and a bone marrow biopsy revealed an XX karyotype.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!