A scream from the past: A multidisciplinary approach in a concealment of a corpse found mummified

Gitto, Lorenzo; Bonaccorso, Luigi; Maiese, Aniello; dell’Aquila, Massimiliano; Arena, Vincenzo; Bolino, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2015.02.017

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the literature, several studies investigated the potential use of several markers in wound vitality demonstration [171][172][173][174][175][176][177]. However, a standardized method is not available yet, and these data could not be reliably used in forensic practice [178].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

State-of-the-Art on Wound Vitality Evaluation: A Systematic Review

Maiese

Manetti

Iacoponi

et al. 2022

IJMS

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The vitality demonstration refers to determining if an injury has been caused ante- or post-mortem, while wound age means to evaluate how long a subject has survived after the infliction of an injury. Histology alone is not enough to prove the vitality of a lesion. Recently, immunohistochemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology have been introduced in the field of lesions vitality and age demonstration. The study was conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic review (PRISMA) protocol. The search terms were “wound”, “lesion”, “vitality”, “evaluation”, “immunohistochemistry”, “proteins”, “electrolytes”, “mRNAs”, and “miRNAs” in the title, abstract, and keywords. This evaluation left 137 scientific papers. This review aimed to collect all the knowledge on vital wound demonstration and provide a temporal distribution of the methods currently available, in order to determine the age of lesions, thus helping forensic pathologists in finding a way through the tangled jungle of wound vitality evaluation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

State-of-the-Art on Wound Vitality Evaluation: A Systematic Review

Maiese

Manetti

Iacoponi

et al. 2022

IJMS

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“…On the other hand, toxicological investigations [ 60 , 61 ] may be remarkably important, even if they can be affected by post-mortem and decomposition phenomena. It is well known that insulin, C-peptide, and glucose detection and quantification in postmortem samples are characterized by important analytical limitations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insulin and Oral Hypoglycemic Drug Overdose in Post-Mortem Investigations: A Literature Review

et al. 2022

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Background and Objectives: Insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents are drugs widely used in the world population due to their therapeutic effects on diabetes mellitus. Despite these benefits, they can also cause accidental or voluntary drug overdose. This review aims to evaluate post-mortem investigations in cases of suspected hypoglycemic drug overdose. Materials and Methods: We performed a comprehensive search using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review (PRISMA) standards; we systematically searched the PubMed, Science Direct Scopus, Google Scholar, and Excerpta Medica Database (EM-BASE) databases from the point of database inception until August 2022. The following inclusion criteria were used: (1) original research articles, (2) reviews and mini-reviews, (3) case reports/series, (4) and only papers written in English. Results: Thirty-three scientific papers, including original research articles, case reports, and case series, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A total of 109 cases of insulin or hypoglycemic drug overdose were found. There were 71 cases of suicide (65%), 25 cases of accidental poisoning (23%), and 13 cases of homicide (12%). The most commonly used drug was insulin (95.4%). Autopsy and post-mortem examinations were performed in 84 cases, while toxicological investigations were performed in 79 cases. The most common gross findings in the autopsy were pulmonary edema (55.7%) and congestion (41.8%), while the most common histological finding was neuronal depletion or necrosis (29.1%). Conclusions: In the suspicion of death from insulin or overdose from oral hypoglycemic agents, autopsy findings may be nonspecific, and the search for injection marks can be positive at the external examination. Significant post-mortal alterations can interest biological samples and an early autopsy investigation is recommended.

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“…In our study, we found that a more complete diagnosis was obtained in all those cases in which all the steps described above were applied, i.e., in which inspection, CT or radiographic examination, autopsy examination, and toxicological, genetic, and histological examinations were systematically performed [ 55 ]. This undoubtedly indicates the importance of a systematic, orderly, and recorded investigation of charred or heat-related injury cases to minimize errors or contamination at the scene and to obtain an accurate and rapid diagnosis of the cause of death.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cause of Death in Charred Bodies: Reflections and Operational Insights Based on a Large Cases Study

et al. 2022

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Our study aims to demonstrate the experience of analyzing fully or partially charred corpses to offer a proper implementation protocol for determining the cause of death. In this study, we present a total of 103 cases obtained from the University of Rome La Sapienza and the University of Pisa archives. All cases were classified based on the extent and severity of burns using a visual method. We divided all cases into two groups. The first group included grade I–II burns (21 cases) without the need for identification. The second group (82 cases) included injuries worse than grade burns II, so all cases were analyzed using an analytical method. For each case, we have documented which of the following analyses have been used and the corresponding findings: inspection, autopsy examination, imaging examination, genetic and toxicological examinations, and histological examination. The results describe the main diagnostic findings and show that only the application of all the above systematic analyses can provide greater accuracy and reliability in describing the causes of death or solving problems, such as identification. In conclusion, we propose an available protocol that defines the main steps of a complete diagnostic pathway that pathologists should follow daily in studying charred bodies.

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A scream from the past: A multidisciplinary approach in a concealment of a corpse found mummified

Cited by 25 publications

References 23 publications

State-of-the-Art on Wound Vitality Evaluation: A Systematic Review

State-of-the-Art on Wound Vitality Evaluation: A Systematic Review

Insulin and Oral Hypoglycemic Drug Overdose in Post-Mortem Investigations: A Literature Review

Cause of Death in Charred Bodies: Reflections and Operational Insights Based on a Large Cases Study

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