Fatal Complication of Mouthguard Used to Treat Awake Bruxism in Patient with Frontotemporal Dementia.

Awake bruxism is an understudied manifestation of frontotemporal dementia, yet awake bruxism can have fatal consequences in the aging population. This report presents a patient suffering from awake bruxism associated with frontotemporal dementia being treated with a mouthguard, which ultimately becomes lodged in her posterior oropharynx leading to asphyxiation. The case highlights the need for investigation into the occurrence and treatment of awake bruxism among patients with dementia, and the unique risk-benefit analysis that must be performed to develop proper treatment plans for patients with dementia.

COVID-19-Related Suicides-Public Health Role of Forensic Pathologists.

ABSTRACT: Concerns about potential increases in suicidal behavior during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic arose in response to reported widespread mental health deterioration. Although early data did not corroborate such concerns, suicide remains a significant cause of preventable deaths worldwide and is of significant interest to public health in the setting of a pandemic. In this study, we present 17 cases of COVID-19-related suicides seen in our West Michigan Medical Examiner's office from 2020 to 2022, which exhibit the complex relationship between mental health and pandemic-related psychological, social, and economic stressors. The relationships were generally categorized as increased anxiety and/or stress due to COVID-19 (5/17 [29.4%]), the loss of social support and/or social isolation occurring as a result of COVID-19 restrictions (5/17 [29.4%]), financial concerns or loss of income as a result of COVID-19 policies (3/17 [17.6%]), grief related specifically to COVID-19 (2/17 [11.8%]), and purported neuropsychiatric sequelae of a prior COVID-19 infection (2/17 [11.8%]). By examining these cases, we highlight ways in which public health systems might prepare for and respond to mental health crises during current or future pandemics and the need for increased collaboration between forensic pathologists and epidemiologists in collating high-quality data during death investigations.

Positional Asphyxia in Opioid-Related Deaths: Is It Being Overlooked?

The contribution of positional asphyxia in opioid-related deaths is currently unknown. Diagnostic criteria for positional asphyxia include finding the decedent in a position that does not allow for adequate respiration and an inability to extricate themselves from the position due to various conditions. Our primary objective was to assess whether positional asphyxia and the resulting airway compromise were a contributing factor to death due to the toxic effects of opioids. We evaluated 225 deaths where the death scene investigation contained adequate information to evaluate for positional asphyxia and performed a Pearson chi-square test to determine if the proportion of deaths found in an airway compromising position was higher when opioid(s) caused the death. The proportion of decedents found in a potential airway compromising position was greater when the death was related to opioid use (p < 0.0001). Further, narrowing the dataset to decedents who were definitely in an airway compromising position [Yes (24.49%) vs. No (11.02%)] showed a statistically significant association between positional asphyxia and deaths related to opioid use (p = 0.0021). Carefully documenting the position in which the decedent was initially found may be a significant factor in accurate reporting and in harm reduction efforts to decrease the opioid mortality rate.