Hip-flask defense: An experimental study in the Hungarian population.

Toxicology tests and medical expert opinions are part of routine work in drunk driving cases in both domestic and international practice. The greatest challenge to forming an opinion is that the perpetrator claims to have consumed alcohol after the act of driving. To determine the time of consumption, it is essential to establish whether the alcohol in the body was in the absorption phase or in the elimination phase when the sample was collected. In domestic practice, breath alcohol content can be measured several times, two blood samples can be collected, and both blood and urine samples can be taken almost simultaneously. A recent Swedish study showed that taking a single blood sample and two urine samples allows for a more accurate examination of consumption after the fact. This study aimed to examine the applicability of such model to the domestic environment. We conducted a controlled drinking experiment involving 15 Hungarian casual drinker volunteers aged 18-25 years who consumed different amounts of alcohol at specified times while providing regular breath alcohol measurements as well as blood and urine samples. These measurement results provided accurate information about the changes in alcohol metabolism compared to the time of drinking and allowed us to draw the necessary conclusions, offering further evidence that alcohol metabolism can vary significantly between different ethnic groups. The results showed that the absorption and excretion of ethyl alcohol in the volunteers were much faster than those in the current Hungarian standards used in practice. In conclusion, the comparison of blood and urine samples collected between 60 min and 120 min cannot be considered suitable for establishing the fact of drinking after driving in Hungarian practice, and a local model is needed.

[Analysis of death certificates in postmortem examination waivers]. / Halottvizsgálati bizonyítványok adatainak elemzése nem boncolt elhunytak esetén.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The practices of autopsies and waivers in three Hungarian counties subject to the same statutory framework in a 5-year interval have been examined, with special attention to cases of non-natural death. METHOD: The summary data included in the post mortem examination certificates, for the years between 2006 and 2010, in a breakdown according to counties, covering all cases of death were analysed. The work was assisted by a Java-based software programme. RESULTS: In terms of the waiving of autopsies, a comparison of the three counties revealed significant differences. The persons who issue waivers from the performance of autopsies also vary across the counties. In case of deaths caused by accidents, no autopsy was performed in 844 cases. Similar situation was found in case of various identified and non-identified injuries, which were entered as the direct cause of death in 28 cases, as well as road traffic accidents entered in 32 cases and the unidentified consequences of road traffic accidents, which we found in 26 cases. No autopsy was performed in 25 cases of deaths assumed to be suicides and in one homicide. CONCLUSIONS: The Hungarian laws follow the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to Member States of the Council of Europe, and provide that in all cases where the death is due to non-natural causes or the possibility of non-natural causes is raised, an autopsy should be performed. In this given legal context it is unclear how autopsies in the cases of death due to homicides, suicides and accidents as detailed above could possibly be dispensed with. The purpose of this paper was to provide a baseline study on the current practice of certification. The findings could be used in the course of governmental reviews for the purpose of drawing up recommendations. Orv. Hetil., 2016, 157(52), 2082-2087.

The prevalence of prostate carcinoma and its precursor in Hungary: an autopsy study.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of incidental prostatic adenocarcinoma (PCa) and its precursor, high grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) in an autopsy series from Hungarians (Central European Caucasians) was assessed and compared to similar data from the United States and European countries. METHODS: Autopsy cases (n=139; 18-95 years) with no history of urological disease were histologically examined for prostate cancer and HGPIN. After en block removal, the prostate glands were fixed in formalin, sectioned at 3-5mm intervals and embedded in paraffin. Whole-mount serial sections were stained with Hematoxylin-eosin and examined for the presence of PCa and HGPIN. The frequency of PCa and HGPIN was compared to autopsy data obtained from other geographical areas. RESULTS: We found a 38.8% prevalence of incidental PCa with increasing age-related incidence. Both PCa and HGPIN are first detected in the 3rd decade and show a steady increase with age with respect to number of foci, tumor grade and volume. In the age group 81-95, 86.6% and 60% of men had PCa and HGPIN, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Incidental PCa and HGPIN are very prevalent in Hungarian population, comparable with the high US and the Scandinavian epidemiological data for Caucasians.