Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID vaccination campaign on imaging case volumes and medicolegal aspects.

Purpose: The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) significantly impacted the global economy and health. Italy was one of the first and most affected countries. The objective of our study was to assess the impact of the pandemic and the vaccination campaign on the radiological examinations performed in a radiology department of a tertiary center in Southern Italy.

Intravitreal Injection Planning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study of Two Tertiary University Centers in Italy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered the optimum management of retinal diseases. This study examined the impact of the pandemic on the intravitreal-injection practice in two academic centers in Italy along with the related medico-legal implications. A retrospective analysis of electronic medical records from 16 March 2020 to 14 March 2021 at the ophthalmological departments of University of Cagliari (SGD) and University Magna Græcia of Catanzaro (UMG) was conducted.

An unusual case of coma related to glutamate receptor 3 (GluR3) auto-antibodies after a traumatic spinal cord injury: Clinical and pathological aspects.

We report the case of a 28-year-old patient with a history of post-traumatic epilepsy who, following a spinal cord injury and the onset of nosocomial infection, went into a deep coma. A brain MRI revealed non-specific findings, anti-Glutamate Receptor 3 (GluR3) auto-antibodies were detected in the liquor, and the patient's serum and immunomodulatory therapy proved ineffective. Autopsy and histological investigations led to the diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis.

Unexpected death due to a biventricular thrombosis: Case report and review of literature.

Cardiac thrombosis is an unusual condition characterised by the formation of a clot in the heart chambers. Biventricular thrombosis with obstruction of blood flow and fatal cardiogenic shock is anecdotal. This report describes a rare biventricular thrombosis in an elderly woman without known risk factors which was diagnosed at autopsy.

Male circumcision: ritual, science and responsibility.

Introduction And Objectives: In Italy, four minors have died in the last year as a result of male circumcision (MC) procedures performed for cultural and religious reasons by unqualified persons in unhygienic conditions.

Results And Discussion: After illustrating the historical and ethical outlines of the moral admissibility of MC within a comparative perspective, we examine the features of the Italian healthcare system with particular regard both to the heterogeneity of services available in the various Regions and to the risks engendered by excluding MC from the public health setting.

Conclusion: In order to adequately safeguard public health, particularly that of minors, there is a pressing need for thorough discussion of whether the National Health Service should perform MC on minors free of charge or, at least, for a reduced fee.

Fatal hemorrhage from a periumbilical wound: Stabbing or hemorrhage from a caput medusae?

Varices are the main clinical manifestation of portal hypertension, and their bleeding is the predominant cause of mortality from this condition. Periumbilical varices are known as "caput medusae." Reports of their bleeding are rare, with only three fatal cases described in the literature.

Fatal Intracerebral Hemorrhage During "Muay Thai" in a 21-Year-Old Man With Undiagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Spontaneous or Posttraumatic Hemorrhage?

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells in the bone marrow that interferes with the production of normal blood cells. This disease is burdened by a high risk of bleeding complications involving central nervous system hemorrhages, purpura, gingival bleeding, and gastrointestinal bleeding. In this article, the authors report a case of a fatal intracerebral hemorrhage in a 21-year-old man who was affected by an undiagnosed AML.

The silent deaths of the elderly in long-term care facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic: The role of forensic pathology.

The Covid-19 pandemic is currently a major global public health problem. We know that the elderly and people with chronic diseases contract the infection more easily and they develop clinically more serious and often lethal forms. To date, the reasons for this have been generically attributed to old age and underlying diseases.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on domestic violence: The dark side of home isolation during quarantine.

Domestic violence is a global public health problem. It takes many different forms and leads to significant physical and psychological consequences for the victim and the whole family. Situations that may prompt episodes of violence in the family include stress, emotional disappointment, economic factors, bad and cramped housing, and alcohol or drug abuse.

Covid-19 emergency in prison: Current management and forensic perspectives.

The Covid-19 pandemic is currently a major worldwide public health problem. Contagion within prisons and in other custodial settings will need to be addressed promptly, but the management of preventive measures will be difficult due to overcrowding and inmates and officers' close physical contact. There may also be less access to care than in community settings.

Elder abuse: a retrospective analysis of autopsy cases from the department of legal medicine in Genoa from 2006 to 2017.

Elder abuse is a form of violence that is often misunderstood and still underestimated. This kind of abuse is classified in physical abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and self-neglect. In this study, 784 cases of dead people over 65 years of age were retrospectively analyzed: in all cases, the cause of death was determined by the autopsy.

Review on post-mortem diagnosis in suspected SUDEP: Currently still a difficult task for Forensic Pathologists.

Sudden and unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) represents the predominant cause of premature deaths in young adults with epilepsy and is more common with patients with poorly controlled and generalized convulsive seizures. It is reported that there are 1,16 cases for every 1000 subjects affected with epilepsy. This review takes stock of the current problems and issues in the autopsy of cases of sudden death with epileptic people.

Unusual and Fatal Case of an Undiagnosed Intravascular Large B-cell Lymphoma: The Oncologist's Great Imitator.

Intravascular lymphoma (IVL) is a rare subtype of extranodal lymphomas that is characterized by the selective growth of neoplastic cells within the lumen of small vessels. Authors document the case of an unexpected death caused by an undiagnosed intravascular large B-cell lymphoma with multi-organ involvement, which had initially manifested as an infection and then as an unclarified central nervous system pathology. Histological examination showed a diffuse intravascular large B-cell brain lymphoma with prominent cerebral involvement.

Myelopathy Due to Intracranial Dural Arteriovenous Fistula with Perimedullary Venous Drainage: Clinical and Medicolegal Aspects in a Case of Diagnostic Pitfall.

Background: Intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) consists of a meshwork of arteriovenous shunts. Drainage of the fistula may be into a dural sinus or directly into cortical veins. Rarely, dural arteriovenous fistulas drain exclusively into perimedullary veins.

Sudden and Unexpected Death During Sexual Activity, Due to a Glial Cyst of the Pineal Gland.

Cysts of the pineal gland are benign lesions. Often asymptomatic, in the majority of cases they are discovered incidentally during brain magnetic resonance imaging or autopsy. Sporadically, however, they may cause such symptoms as chronic headache, loss of consciousness, corticospinal and sensory impairment, and, in some cases, even sudden death.

Medico-legal aspects of deaths related to neglect and abandonment in the elderly.

As life expectancy increases, the phenomenon of the neglect of elderly persons is becoming increasingly relevant in the fields of both medicine and social care. This work analyses the cases of two subjects whose deaths initially seemed to have been attributable to natural causes. The autopsy findings and the analysis of clinical data, however, were able to establish that neglect had played a determining role in their deaths.

A Rare Case of Fatal Bowel Obstruction Secondary to a Colonic Bezoar.

A bezoar is a mass of undigested, or partially digested, material forming in the lumen of the gastroenteric tract, causing occlusive or subocclusive events. The most frequent types of bezoars are those composed of vegetable fibers, also called phytobezoars, which, by virtue of their high content in cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, remain undigested in the stomach and intestines and, from there, can migrate and occlude the narrowest portions of the bowel. The areas that are most frequently affected by occlusive phenomena related to the presence of bezoars are the stomach and the small intestine, although colic localizations are extremely rare.

Sudden Death Secondary to an Undiagnosed B-Cell Lymphoma of the Hypopharynx and Infiltration of the Inferior Constrictor Muscle.

The aim of this presentation was to share an uncommon form of sudden death, suffered by a 64-year-old woman, due to a mechanical obstruction of hypopharynx by an undiagnosed B-cell lymphoma, infiltrating the inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle. A forensic approach by means of scene investigation, circumstantial data collection, autopsy, and histological and toxicological investigations led to conclude that the cause of death was asphyxia, correlated with B-cell lymphoma of the hypopharynx. The autopsy examination highlighted the presence of a wall thickening, infiltrating, and projecting into the hypopharynx lumen.