Dissecting Thoracic Aortic Hematoma Masquerading as Blunt Force Injury of the Neck.

Discoloration of the skin of the anterior and lateral neck may raise suspicion for blunt force injury, particularly cervical compression, in an unwitnessed death. We present a case of an elderly woman with an unwitnessed death at home which highlights an external examination finding of blue/purple discoloration of the skin of the neck and links this finding with those from internal examination at autopsy. Pertinent negatives include absence of conjunctival and mucosal petechiae, absence of cutaneous abrasions of the neck, and absence of contusions of the anterior neck musculature. This case illustrates a natural disease entity, spontaneous dissection of a thoracic aortic hematoma, masquerading as blunt force injury externally and highlights the importance of having an appropriate index of suspicion when triaging jurisdictional cases for postmortem examination to accurately determine cause and manner of death.

'Lingering' opiate deaths? Concentration of opiates in medulla and femoral blood.

'Lingering death' cases occur when the circumstances of death indicate an opiate overdose, but measured opiate blood levels are only in the therapeutic range; death results from cardiac and respiratory depression. This study examined the relative concentration of opiates in femoral blood and in the medulla oblongata (sites for cardiac and respiratory control) from 41 cases to determine whether a difference in opiate concentration might explain lingering deaths. Opiates from blood and medulla were analyzed using GC-EI-MS in selective ion monitoring mode. Results were correlated with gross and microscopic findings of the lungs and with cause and manner of death. Opiate concentrations for morphine, codeine and 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM) were higher in the medulla than in blood. The brain: blood ratio for the analytes demonstrated an increasing ratio from morphine, to codeine, to 6-AM (1.42, 2.48 and 4.86), which corresponds to the relative lipophilicity of these analytes. The average right and left lung weights were 762 and 668 g, respectively. Histologic examination showed edema, and/or polarizable microemboli, acute bronchopneumonia and acute bronchitis. The preferential distribution of opiates to medulla suggests that lingering opiate deaths may be explained, at least in part, because of higher relative concentrations of drug in brain, compared with femoral blood.

Drug prevalence in drowning deaths in Cuyahoga County, Ohio: a ten-year retrospective study.

Previous studies have shown that up to 50% of adult drownings are related to the consumption of alcohol. Little information is available in the literature regarding the possible contribution of ethanol and other drugs to drownings. All records of deaths occurring in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, from 1994-2003, in which drowning was listed as the cause of death, were reviewed. Toxicology analysis was performed on cases where specimens were submitted. Review of the 187 cases showed that the majority (78%) of drowning deaths were ruled as accidents, 26 (14%) as suicide, 5 (3%) as homicide, and 11 (6%) as undetermined. Among the accidental deaths (n=141), 97 (69%) were negative for all drugs, including ethanol, and 30 cases (21%) were positive for ethanol only. Illicit drugs were detected in 4 of the cases (3%). In the suicides (n=26), 16 (62%) were negative for all drugs, including ethanol, and 7 cases (27%) were positive for ethanol only (mean blood alcohol concentration [BAC] 0.03 g/dL). Illicit drugs were detected in 3 of the cases (12%). Two of the 5 homicide cases (40%) were positive for ethanol. There were no cases in which the victim tested positive for illicit drugs. Of the 11 cases ruled as undetermined, 64% (n=7) were negative for all drugs, including ethanol. The remainder of the cases tested positive for ethanol only. There were no cases in which illicit drugs were detected. This study demonstrates that the majority of drowning deaths in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, were not drug related. Deaths in which drugs were detected were typically accidental deaths, with ethanol the most common drug detected.