Emerging issues in the approach to submerged bodies: Water-related deaths in Friuli, northeastern Italy (1993-2020). Analysis of post-mortem reports and some unusual cases.

When analysing bodies recovered from a watery environment, all manners of death, a variety of causes of death and the possibility of body disposal have to be considered. Unclear circumstances of death, unidentified victims and body decomposition may hamper a forensic investigation. The lack of specific and sensitive drowning-related autopsy findings and post-mortem blood alcohol levels (blood alcohol concentrations (BACs)) may also lead to erroneous conclusions. We reviewed the autopsy records for all bodies recovered from water in Friuli, northeastern Italy, over a 28-year period, focusing on death circumstances, autopsy findings and blood alcohol levels. Some unusual cases were examined separately. Among the 69 cases, there were 32 accidents, 13 suicides, 4 homicides, 6 natural and 14 undetermined deaths. Causes of death included 51 drownings, 6 undetermined, 5 cardiac deaths and 7 non-drownings. Six deaths in a bathtub and one diving-related death were also included. Acute alcohol intoxication was ascertained in 22 of 40 victims. Some significant limitations in the approach to water-related deaths have been highlighted: although emphysema aquosum and external foam resulted to be the most reliable indicators, a determination of drowning based exclusively on autopsy findings cannot be ascertained with certainty. Furthermore, it was found that the standard definitions of wet and dry drowning in the literature differ widely from a morphological perspective and this may lead to misleading outcomes. Post-mortem BAC changes have been critically analysed only in bodies found in cold water, and, in the absence of an alternative to blood specimens, the use of pre-set cut-off values is still necessary.

Submerged corpses of an elderly couple retrieved from a canal with alcohol detected in their blood: A rare case of murder-suicide by drowning?

The body of an elderly man and his disabled wife were found submerged in a canal in open country one afternoon. They had last been seen alive that morning. The man's car was parked close to the canal and the woman's wheelchair was located in a stable position a few meters from the canal bank, facing away from the water. There were abrasions and bruises on the woman's forearms and hands and lower left leg, and the man's body displayed a bruise on the left hand and an abrasion of the left thumb likely caused by a fingernail. Other observations included frothy fluid exuding from the nose and in the airways, overdistended lungs with rib impressions and clear watery fluid in the stomach of both victims. Ethanol was detected in the peripheral blood of both corpses (1.0 g/L in the woman, 0.25 g/L in the man). The man was known to be stressed and depressed: he cared for his ailing spouse, who was affected by severe cognitive impairment and he had on several occasions expressed a desire to put an end to their misery. The hypotheses of a suicide pact or a double accident were in contrast with the woman's mental state and with the position of the wheelchair, respectively. The manner of death was consistent with a spousal murder-suicide involving a double drowning. Papers reporting similar cases are infrequent in the literature.

Medico legal aspects of self-injection of metallic mercury in cases of suicide or self-harming.

Metallic mercury may be self-injected for suicidal or self-harm purposes or sometimes for superstitious or other inadvisable reasons. Local tissue or systemic consequences such as mercurialism can frequently occur in cases of subcutaneous or deep injection, while death due to pulmonary embolism and cardiac, brain, hepatic or renal toxicity may occur in cases of high dosage intravenous administration. The aim of this review is to focus on the diagnostic difficulties facing coroners and forensic pathologists when the courts require confirmation that evidence of self-injection of metallic mercury is the result of suicide or self-harming. Forensic examination performed on the corpses of victims who died in or out of hospital or on surviving injured or intoxicated victims showing signs of mercurialism, demands the careful evaluation of the death scene, of all related circumstances and of the clinical and autopsy data. Close interaction between forensic pathologists and toxicologists is also needed to identify and quantify mercury levels in blood, urine and tissue.

Immunoglobulin K light chain deficiency: A rare, but probably underestimated, humoral immune defect.

Human immunoglobulin molecules are generated by a pair of identical heavy chains, which identify the immunoglobulin class, and a pair of identical light chains, Kappa or Lambda alternatively, which characterize the immunoglobulin type. In normal conditions, Kappa light chains represent approximately 2/3 of the light chains of total immunoglobulins, both circulating and lymphocyte surface bound. Very few cases of immunoglobulin Kappa or Lambda light chain defects have been reported. Furthermore, the genetic basis of this defect has been extensively explored only in a single case. We report a case of a patient suffering of serious recurrent bacterial infections, which was caused by a very rare form of immunoglobulin disorder, consisting of a pure defect of Kappa light chain. We evaluated major serum immunoglobulin concentrations, as well as total and free Kappa and Lambda light chain concentrations. Lymphocyte phenotyping was also performed and finally we tested the Kappa chain VJ rearrangement as well as the constant Kappa region sequence. Studies performed on VJ rearrangement showed a polyclonal genetic arrangement, whereas the gene sequencing for the constant region of Kappa chain showed a homozygous T to G substitution at the position 1288 (rs200765148). This mutation causes a substitution from Cys to Gly in the protein sequence and, therefore, determines the abnormal folding of the constant region of Kappa chain. We suggest that this defect could lead to an effective reduction of the variability of total antibody repertoire and a consequent defect of an apparently normal immunoglobulin response to common antigens.

Medico legal investigations into sudden sniffing deaths linked with trichloroethylene.

Sudden deaths attributed to sniffing trichloroethylene are caused by the abuse of this solvent which produces pleasant inebriating effects with rapid dissipation. In the event of repeated cycles of inhalation, a dangerous and uncontrolled systemic accumulation of trichloroethylene may occur, followed by central nervous system depression, coma and lethal cardiorespiratory arrest. Sometimes death occurs outside the hospital environment, without medical intervention or witnesses and without specific necroscopic signs. Medico legal investigations into sudden sniffing deaths associated with trichloroethylene demand careful analysis of the death scene and related circumstances, a detailed understanding of the deceased's medical history and background of substance abuse and an accurate evaluation of all autopsy and laboratory data, with close cooperation between the judiciary, coroners and toxicologists.