Drowning: Still a difficult autopsy diagnosis

Piette, M; Letter, Els A. De

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.10.027

Cited by 248 publications

(152 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…It is likely that weak, poorly responsive turtles may have difficulty surfacing to breathe and may be prone to aspiration of sea water. In human forensic pathology, the diagnosis of drowning, like that of hypothermia, is not straightforward, and gross autopsy and histopathologic findings are often nonspecific (Piette and DeLetter, 2005). Some support for drowning or near drowning as a factor in sea turtle mortality is found in several studies that report hypermagnesemia in stranded sea turtles Wyneken et al, 2006;Innis et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathologic and Parasitologic Findings of Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys Kempii) Stranded on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001–2006

Innis

Nyaoke

Williams

et al. 2009

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:Necropsy reports for 28 stranded, cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) that died between 2001 and 2006 were reviewed retrospectively. Gross and microscopic lesions were compiled to describe the pathologic and parasitologic findings in turtles that were found freshly dead on the beach or that died within 48 hr of stranding. Anatomic lesions of varying severity were identified in each of the examined turtles and were identified in tissues of the alimentary, respiratory, integumentary, nervous and sensory, and urogenital systems in order of decreasing frequency. Necrotizing enterocolitis and bacterial or fungal pneumonia were the most frequently encountered lesions that were considered clinically significant. Parasites and parasitic lesions were identified primarily in tissues of the alimentary system and included intestinal cestodiasis and parasitic granulomas containing larval cestodes or nematodes. Postlarval cestodes were also found in the coelom of two turtles. In many cases, the extent and severity of lesions were judged to be insufficient to have solely caused mortality, suggesting that additional factors such as metabolic, respiratory, and electrolyte derangements; hypothermia; and drowning may be important proximate causes of death in cold-stunned turtles. Results of this study provide insight into pathologic conditions that may be of clinical relevance to rehabilitation efforts for coldstunned sea turtles.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathologic and Parasitologic Findings of Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys Kempii) Stranded on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001–2006

Innis

Nyaoke

Williams

et al. 2009

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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“…The polymerase chain reaction method represents a new perspective for identifying diatoms but its higher sensitivity could be hampered by a higher risk for contamination [4]. Recently, Seo et al [3] suggested a DNA coprecipitation method for the detection of diatoms in heart blood as a simple and safe tool for the diagnosis of drowning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The forensic diagnosis of drowning is based on macroscopic and microscopic findings but the pathological proof is often difficult or even impossible to obtain [2,3]. Furthermore, the macroscopic and microscopic findings in the fresh drowned corpse are non-specific and will disappear with putrefaction [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of virtopsy in the post-mortem diagnosis of drowning

Vernuccio

Galfano

et al. 2014

Radiol med

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Purpose Due to admitted limits of autopsy-based studies in the diagnosis of drowning, virtopsy is considered the new imaging horizon in these post-mortem studies. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of virtopsy performed through computed tomography (CT) in the forensic diagnosis of drowning. Materials and methods We retrospectively examined the CT data of four cadavers recovered from sea water and suspected to have died by drowning. Each patient underwent a full-body post-mortem CT scan, and then a traditional autopsy. Results All the cadavers showed fluid in the airways and patchy ground-glass opacities in the lung. Only one patient had no fluid in the digestive tract; this patient had a left parietal bone fracture with a large gap and other multiple bone fractures (nose, clavicle, first rib and patella). One of the three patients who had fluid in the digestive tract had no fluid in the paranasal sinuses. This latter patient showed cerebral oedema with subarachnoid and intraventricular haemorrhage, multiple bone fractures (orbital floor, ribs, sacrum and acetabular edge) and air in the heart, in the aorta and in bowel loops. ConclusionTo date, there are no autopsy findings pathognomonic of drowning. This study proves that virtopsy is a useful tool in the diagnosis of drowning in that it allows us to understand if the victim was alive or dead when he entered the water and if the cause of death was drowning.

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“…The determination of chemical substances present in the drowning medium could be a complementary tool in the forensic investigation [1,2]. Referring to this, both strontium (Sr) and silicon (Si) have proven to be interesting in the diagnosis of drowning (D), in addition to the histological and SEM plankton research in lower airways (Figures 1,2).…”

Section: Background and Aimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drowning: Still a difficult autopsy diagnosis

Cited by 248 publications

References 66 publications

Pathologic and Parasitologic Findings of Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys Kempii) Stranded on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001–2006

Pathologic and Parasitologic Findings of Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys Kempii) Stranded on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001–2006

Role of virtopsy in the post-mortem diagnosis of drowning

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