Browsing by Author "Bogdanovic, Milenko (57203508508)"

We present the case of a 42-year-old man, with a medical history of schizophrenic psychosis, who was found dead on the floor of his bedroom. At the autopsy, a bottle lid with a notched edge was found in the lower pharynx, partially obstructing the larynx and thus keeping the epiglottis in an open position. Airway obstruction was caused by edema and inflammation of the surrounding tissue. After removal of the foreign body, the tissue of the larynx was left with an impression of the bottle lid. The adjacent mucosa was swollen, hyperemic, partly necrotic, and covered with fibrin deposits. Also, foreign bodies were found in the stomach. The histological analysis of the hypopharynx showed severe nonspecific inflammation and necrosis of epithelium. The cause of death was a complication of subacute laryngeal obstruction caused by a foreign body. © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

As acute alcohol intake can trigger suicidal ideas and attempts in people already at risk, and self-aggression is more intense after alcohol consumption, the aim of this study is to assess the relationship between blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and the lethality of suicide methods. A number of different socio-demographic and clinical predictors related to selection of high lethality methods were evaluated. This retrospective autopsy study covers an 11-year period of autopsies performed in the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Belgrade. It included 308 subjects with confirmed BAC above 0‰ who committed suicide. The suicide methods were dichotomized in terms of lethality–low lethality methods (LLM–drug/chemical overdose or use of a sharp object, n = 20) and high lethality methods (HLM–hanging, firearms and explosives, drowning, jumping from a height and immolation, n = 288). Our study did not reveal a statistically significant relationship between alcohol concentration and HLM. There is an obvious trend of HLM in rising BAC categories, but without any statistical significance. Of all tested predictors, only the male gender has significant correlation with HLM (p = 0.036). Despite the absence of correlation between BAC and HLM, the rising trend in BAC in our study showed, along with opposing literature data, that we can conclude this interconnection is highly complex. © 2020 Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences.

We present a case of 19-year-old female patient, who was injured in childhood and subsequently developed hydrocephalus, chronic elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP), and a copper-beaten skull appearance. Chronic hydrocephalus leads to an increase in intraventricular pressure, causing ventricular expansion and dislocation of adjacent cerebral structures. According to literature data, it has been hypothesized that chronically elevated ICP in persons with craniosynostosis, and other developmental structural abnormalities of the skull, may induce bone remodeling. In cases with copper-beaten skull appearance, increased ICP should be considered as a cause of death (after exclusion of all other obvious causes), and for that reason, careful examination of the skull appearance is suggested. This finding could be useful in cases with advanced postmortem changes, where it might indicate some medical conditions of the deceased or could even be considered unique feature for body identification, although this rationale should be used with great caution. © Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.