Health and safety at necropsy

Burton, Julian

doi:10.1136/jcp.56.4.254

Cited by 114 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 76 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Bu olguların ölü muayenes ve otops şlemler , postmortem nceleme ç n alınan b yoloj k örnekler ve dokuların muhafazası, morg h zmetler , cesed n nakl ve gömülmes le lg l şlemlerde görevl k ş lere ve çevreye radyasyon yayılma r sk bulunmaktadır (3)(4)(5)(6).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Radyasyon Maruziyetinde Postmortem İncelemeler

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYRadioactivity is used for diagnostic and treatment purposes, but it can also be used in criminal activity. Further evaluation of radioactivity use in criminal offenses by forensic medicine is necessary.According to the Turkish Criminal law, the severity of destruction caused on the body by any agent carries importance in the decision making process by the court for final penalty. Homicide by chemical, biologic or nuclear weapons are considered to be purposeful homicide and punished with life sentence. In that regard, autopsy and post-mortem examinations can be requested from physicians to determine the cause of death after homicide cases in which radioactive material has been used.During the autopsy, additional safety precautions should be taken and continued during morgue and funeral processes. The methods of protection from radioactive material depend on the type of radiation and the half life of the agent. Therefore, radiation quantity should be measured prior to autopsy and a risk assessment should be made. When necessary, help needs to be requested from the radiation safety specialists.In this article, topics that need special attention during the post-mortem examinations of corpses that hold radioactivity are discussed.

show abstract

Section: Introductionunclassified

Radyasyon Maruziyetinde Postmortem İncelemeler

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Consequently, occupationally acquired infections, particularly risk infections, can have a devastating impact on the mortuary worker. It has also been described that autopsy is a potential source of infection with other organisms, notably Streptococcus pyogenes, gastrointestinal organisms (including hepatitis A), and potentially Neisseria meningitides [12] .…”

Section: Occupational Health Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional dangers arise due to slippery floors. Pathogens may be acquired by inhalation ingestion, inoculation, and through the mucous membranes [12] . Consequently, occupationally acquired infections, particularly risk infections, can have a devastating impact on the mortuary worker.…”

Section: Occupational Health Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study of sanitary issues relating to burial reported, that improper burial may contaminate the soil and ground water with leachates from the dead body, which obviously may present serious hazards [9] . In western countries, burial and cremation are very strictly regulated, and while there is an extensive literature on the environmental impact of cremation, very little has been published on environmental hazards arising from burial or from mortuary waste [10][11][12][13] . Burial is an appropriate method of disposal [14] , and concluded that there is little evidence for microbiological contamination of groundwater from normal burial.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Quantitative assessment of mortuary waste: occupational safety and environmental health

Patwary

Sarker

2012

JHA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mismanagement of mortuary waste is a significant risk factor for disease transmission. Quantitative estimation of mortuary waste generation is needed to estimate the potential risk and as a basis for any waste treatment, disposal and management plan. Bangladesh, a developing country, is an example where there has been no rigorous estimation of mortuary waste generation and associated risk factors based on a thorough scientific study. The present study used a statistically designed sampling method of waste generation in a broad range to identify the factors associated with public health and environmental safety. The data gathering techniques included observation, formal structured interview, informal dialogue, and waste weighing.The proportion of mortuary waste classified as hazardous by the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines was found to be high. The waste generation rate per dead body was found to be 9.00 ± 2.52kg and average waste generation per day was 918 ± 11kg among the surveyed mortuaries. Operatives dealing with the infectious waste were frequently found to be untrained, without even a basic understanding of the hazards involved. Personal protective equipment was inadequate in most cases, which led to frequent accidental injuries. None of the mortuaries were found to have adequate storage facilities for dead bodies as well as hazardous waste in the context of environmental health and safety. Hazardous waste was dumped into city corporation bins, and disposed of on general landfill sites. As well as exposing the waste to the environment, this could potentially contaminate ground water, soil and sediments, especially as the dumps were located in areas subject to frequent flooding. The significant factor of health and environmental risk was identified as decomposition of dead bodies. The degree to which dead bodies are decomposed is related to the time taken to bring them to the mortuary and to the duration of the autopsies. The delay was due to poor communication, low level of interest, transportation cost, and trying to avoid social harassment. This is the first study to attempt this type of thorough estimation of mortuary waste and assessment of risk on environmental health occupational safety.

show abstract

“…Other tissues, such as calcified tubercles, bone marrow and meninges, which are difficult to preserve with a standard fixative solution (for more details see the Material and methods section), may also harbour viable mycobacteria. Therefore, in cases of undetected mycobacterial infections, personnel, teachers, and students are presented with a risk of infection by mycobacteria (Sterling et al, 2000;Burton, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk assessment of mycobacterial infections (human tuberculosis and avian mycobacteriosis) during anatomical dissection of cadavers

Bartoš¹,

Pavlíková²,

Dvorská³

et al. 2006

Vet. Med. - Czech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this work was to study the presence of mycobacteria in tissue samples from four cadavers fixed with formalin, and tissue samples from a recently deceased unpreserved individual, who had a history of human tuberculosis infection, undergoing a post mortem (cause of death not related to tuberculosis). All were examined for the presence of tuberculous lesions and the specific presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) and M. avium complex (MAC) members by microscopy, culture, and PCR analysis of four genomic elements (IS6110, mtp40, IS901, and IS1245). Microscopy examination after the Ziehl-Neelsen staining and culture examination for the presence of mycobacteria were negative in all 22 tissue samples from the four embalmed cadavers. PCR analysis of IS6110 and mtp40 was positive in tissue samples of tuberculous lesions from the lungs of two embalmed cadavers, and from intact kidney tissue of one of these cadavers. Microscopy and culture examinations of liver and spleen tissues from the unpreserved cadaver were positive for mycobacteria. PCR analysis, specific for M. avium subsp. avium, was positive in both tissue samples with, and without tuberculous lesions.

show abstract

Health and safety at necropsy

Cited by 114 publications

References 76 publications

Radyasyon Maruziyetinde Postmortem İncelemeler

Radyasyon Maruziyetinde Postmortem İncelemeler

Quantitative assessment of mortuary waste: occupational safety and environmental health

Risk assessment of mycobacterial infections (human tuberculosis and avian mycobacteriosis) during anatomical dissection of cadavers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About