Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Antibody Seroprevalence in Decedents Undergoing Forensic Postmortem Examination: Feasibility for Real-Time Pandemic Surveillance.

Background: Population-based seroprevalence studies offer comprehensive characterization of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread, but barriers exist and marginalized populations may not be captured. We assessed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody seroprevalence among decedents in Maryland over 6 months in 2020. Methods: Data were collected on decedents undergoing forensic postmortem examination in Maryland from 24 May through 30 November 2020 from whom a blood specimen could be collected. Those with available blood specimens were tested with the CoronaCHEK lateral flow antibody assay. We assessed monthly seroprevalence compared to the statewide estimated number of cases and proportion of positive test results (testing positivity). We used Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations of demographic characteristics, homelessness, and manner of death with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Results: Among 1906 decedents, 305 (16%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Monthly seroprevalence increased from 11% to 22% over time and was consistently higher than state-level estimates of testing positivity. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with 2- to 3.2-fold higher seropositivity (P < .05) irrespective of sex. Deaths due to motor vehicle crash were associated with 62% increased seropositivity (aPR, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.15-2.28]) vs natural manner of death. Though seroprevalence was lower in decedents of illicit drug overdose vs nonoverdose in early months, this shifted, and seroprevalence was comparable by November 2020. Conclusions: Decedents undergoing forensic postmortem examination, especially those dying due to motor vehicle trauma, may be a sentinel population for COVID-19 spread in the general population and merits exploration in other states/regions.

Generalized arterial calcification of infancy--Findings at post-mortem computed tomography and autopsy.

Generalized arterial calcification in infancy is a rare genetic disorder characterized by abnormal calcification of large and medium sized arteries and marked myointimal proliferation resulting in arterial stenosis. The condition is often fatal secondary to complications of cardiac ischemia, hypertension and cardiac failure. In this report we describe the findings at post mortem computed tomography, histology and autopsy.

Excited delirium deaths in custody: past and present.

First identified in institutionalized psychiatric populations, chronic excited delirium syndrome was not uncommon in the first half of the 20th century. After a temporal pause, excited delirium re-emerged in the 1980s, in an acute form. Generally occurring in victims without organic mental disease, acute excited delirium is associated with stimulant abuse. This exploratory research examines the evolution of excited delirium deaths in custody to determine if medical examiner cases in Maryland reflect the historical and clinical patterns identified in the existing literature. All deaths occurring from 1939 to 2005, under the purview of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, were reviewed. Sixty-two custodial deaths were subsequently identified, all of which documented excited delirium as a cause of death or presented with characteristics associated with excited delirium (eg, endogenous mental disease, drug intoxication, violent behavior, paranoia, or the use of physical restraints). Consistent with extant literature, acute onset excited delirium was first identified in Maryland during the 1980s. These cases generally included violent behavior, drug intoxication, and the use of restraints. In contrast, chronic forms of excited delirium were not clearly identified. This divergent finding may be an artifact of case documentation, case inclusion criteria and/or medico-legal protocol, specific to Maryland.

Police custody deaths in Maryland, USA: an examination of 45 cases.

Previous published research suggests there are a diverse, yet relatively consistent, set of factors present in sudden, unexpected, and initially inexplicable deaths in police custody. This retrospective analysis examines police custodial deaths in Maryland, USA. Police custody death is operationalized to include deaths which occurred suddenly and unexpectedly during police/citizen encounters. Only deaths for which the cause was initially undeterminable are included. Suicidal hanging, police shootings and fatal pursuits are not included. Review of the records at Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner indicates that 45 persons died suddenly and unexpectedly in the custody of the police, between 1990 and 2004. Commensurate with existing research, our analysis identifies multiple factors generally present in this type of police custody death. Although individual-specific, these factors include a relatively static constellation of behavioral (e.g., erratic and/or violent behavior, and physical struggle) and physical (e.g., stimulant abuse, natural disease, and obesity) dimensions. While the presence of these factors has been well-documented, their empirical significance, interactions and causal sequence have yet to be established. To increase the methodological rigor of subsequent research, we have developed a comprehensive, national custody death database by which multivariate models may be analyzed.

Death in custody: a historical analysis.

This research delineates the historical evolution of death in custody. A retrospective, exploratory analysis of 145,425 cases from Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, occurring from 1939 to 2004, was conducted. Two hundred and two custodial deaths were identified and subsequently examined relative to time, agency, decedent characteristics, and cause and manner of death. Results indicate that there have been substantive changes in custodial deaths over time. Cardiovascular disease was the most frequent cause of death from the 1930s to the 1970s, except for the 1940s, when syphilis and tuberculosis took precedence. Asphyxia, the predominant cause of death in the 1980s, reflected an increase in suicidal hangings. Emerging in the 1980s, drug intoxication deaths were prevalent in the 1990s and 2000s. Sudden unexplained deaths involving violent behavior, the use of multiple restraints, and drug intoxication were not identified until the 1980s, coinciding with periods of increased cocaine abuse nationally.

Sudden death during arrest and phencyclidine intoxication.

Deaths of individuals being arrested are important and complex medicolegal cases. Conclusions regarding the cause and manner of death for such cases must take into account multiple factors that may have played a role, as well as anticipate the forensic issues that will arise. In this article, we review the deaths of 2 individuals in which phencyclidine intoxication was a factor that contributed to death during arrest. Most cases of sudden death during arrest have involved cocaine intoxication; because phencyclidine's pharmacologic properties are quite different from those of cocaine, these cases allow for comparisons to those factors that may have greater importance.

Pseudallescheriasis as an aggressive opportunistic infection in a bone marrow transplant recipient.

Pseudallescheria boydii is a low-virulence fungus that is the main causative agent of posttraumatic mycetoma in a nonimmunocompromised host. Immunocompromised patients are at high risk for locally invasive or disseminated Pseudallescheria infection. However, aggressive opportunistic infections due to P boydii are reported infrequently because it morphologically resembles other fungi, especially Aspergillus species, on tissue histology; therefore, such infections are not identified and treated properly. We report a case of disseminated P boydii infection in a patient following bone marrow transplantation. The identity of the fungus was not recognized until microbiologic culture results became available. Our case illustrates the importance of recognizing this fungus as an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients, as well as the need for culture of biopsy material for proper identification so that appropriate therapy can be instituted.