scholarly journals Child homicide in northern Tunisia: a retrospective study of forensic autopsy cases

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meriem Grayaa ◽  
Ikram Kort ◽  
Yomn Naceur ◽  
Meriem Gharbaoui ◽  
Rihem Kouada ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As far as we know, no previous research has investigated child homicide in Tunisia. In this context, our study was carried out to analyze the epidemiological and medico-legal characteristics of child homicide occurring in northern Tunisia over a 17-year period. Results Eighty-seven cases were collected, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.4. The mean age of the victims was 12.6 years for both sexes. We found that 56.3% of the cases were aged between 15 and 18 years. The majority of deaths under 15 years of age occurred at home as a result of intrafamilial homicide. Victims aged more than 15 years were more likely to be assaulted outside the home by a non-family member. The most frequent method of homicide was sharp force (39%) affecting mostly the heart and the lung, followed by blunt trauma (25%), which affected mainly the head. Sexual assault was diagnosed at autopsy in six victims (6.9%). Conclusions The study offers available data concerning the patterns of child homicide in northern Tunisia and may help to implement preventive measures against this kind of crime.

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Ben Khelil ◽  
Fethia Farhani ◽  
Hana Harzallah ◽  
Mohamed Allouche ◽  
Meriem Gharbaoui ◽  
...  

BackgroundIn Tunisia and in the Arab world, few data are available about homicide patterns. The aim of our study was to analyse the victims' profiles and the general pattern.Methods636 homicide victims were autopsied at the Legal Medicine Department of Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis, over a period of 10 years (2005–2014).ResultsVictims were males in 79.7% with a male-to-female ratio of 3.93 and the average age was 37.7 years. The victim was generally from an urban area (66.7%), single (55.7%) and semiskilled (50.2%). The most common methods of homicide were sharp force (51.7%) and blunt trauma (24.8%).ConclusionsThis study suggests applying urgent preventive measures targeting essentially young males and the importance of a national ‘Violence Repository’.


Author(s):  
Kunhi Mohammed K. P. ◽  
Snehasis Pradhan ◽  
Supratim Bhattacharyya ◽  
Prafulla Kumar Das ◽  
Muhammed Navas N. K.

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas are a rare and heterogeneous group of malignant tumors of mesenchymal origin that comprise less than 1 percent of all adult malignancies. Although they occur anywhere in the body, they involve most commonly in extremities, trunk, retroperitoneum and head and neck. The aim of the study was to analyze clinical and histopathological features of various soft tissue sarcomas.Methods: This was a retrospective study, conducted in tertiary cancer centre in Odisha during the period 2015 to 2018. We collected clinical parameters like age, sex, site of swelling, any associated pain and biopsy reports and these variables were correlated with final histopathology reports.Results: A total of 107 patients were included in the study, with male to female ratio of 2:1(71 and 36) and average age of 43.45 years. All of them presented with a swelling. The lower extremities were the most common sites i.e. 44.62%. Pleomorphic sarcoma was the most frequent histologic variety comprising 43% and less frequent variety were angiosarcoma, and myxoid sarcoma.Conclusions: Soft tissue sarcoma are predominant in males and middle aged population are frequently affected. Most common affected site is lower extremity and pleomorphic sarcoma is the prominent histologic type.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.C. Obu ◽  
M.C. Orji ◽  
U.V. Muoneke ◽  
U.V. Asiegbu ◽  
G.O. Ezegbe

Background: Accidental childhood poisoning is a recognized preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. This studywas aimed at determining the prevalence, pattern, and outcome of childhood poisoning among children in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. Material and Methods: Medical records of all cases of accidental childhood poisoning admitted into Children’s emergency room (CHER) of the health facility of study between January 2014 and December 2018 were retrospectively identified and relevant data extracted and analyzed usingSPSS version 22. Results: Out of the 7,700 children that presented to CHER over a 5- year period, 42 were cases of poisoning, giving prevalence rate of 0.5%. Of the 42 cases, only 20 case notes were retrieved. The male to female ratio was 2.3:1 while the ages ranged between 6months and 14 years with the mean age of 3.06±2.88. Kerosene poisoning had the highest proportion of 50.0% (10/20) with the overall mortality rate of 5.0% (1/20).The relationship between age, place of residence and outcome in poisoned children was statistically significant (p = 0.038, 0.045 respectively). Conclusion: Accidental childhood poisoning is common in Abakaliki. Kerosene still remained the major agent while male toddlers were most  vulnerable. There is need to intensify enlightenment campaigns and education of the public about the hazard of improper storage of kerosene and other implicated substances at home. Keywords: Accidental poisoning, Childhood, Kerosene


Author(s):  
Krystian Kazubski ◽  
Łukasz Tomczyk ◽  
Piotr Morasiewicz

The purpose of our study was to comprehensively assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on knee and shoulder arthroscopy performed in an orthopedic department of a university hospital in Poland. This study compared the data on all shoulder and knee arthroscopy procedures performed in two different periods: The period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (from March 4, 2020, to October 15, 2020) and the corresponding period prior to the pandemic (March 4, 2019, to October 15, 2019). The study evaluated epidemiological data, demographic data, and hospital stay duration. The total number of arthroscopy procedures conducted in the evaluated period in 2020 was approximately 8.6% higher than that in the corresponding 2019 period. The mean duration of hospital stay for orthopedic patients after their knee or shoulder arthroscopy was 3.1 days in 2020 and 2.8 days in 2019. Our study revealed the mean age of arthroscopy patients during the pandemic to be lower at 48.4 years than the 51.2 years recorded in 2019. The male-to-female ratio was shown to be lower at .85 during the pandemic, having decreased from 1.5 in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic did not reduce the number of arthroscopy performed at our center, and the mean age of the patients did not change. However, the pandemic had a marked effect on the mean duration of hospital stay and male-to-female ratio.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 78-83
Author(s):  
N.S. Demikova ◽  
◽  
M.A. Podolnaya ◽  
A.N. Putintsev ◽  
A.S. Lapina ◽  
...  

Omphalocele is a congenital malformation belonging to the group of abdominal wall defects. Objective. To determine the incidence of omphalocele and analyze its dynamics for the period 2011–2018 in the regions of the Russian Federation according to monitoring data of congenital anomalies. Materials and methods. Statistical analysis of omphalocele cases among newborns and fetuses with malformations for the period 2011–2018 in 22 regions of the Russian Federation was carried out. The incidence of malformations was calculated per 10,000 births. Results. A total of 1,073 cases of omphalocele were reported from 2011 to 2018, of which 69.34% were in fetuses eliminated due to the prenatal detection of malformation, 27.03% – in liveborn fetuses, and 3.63% – in stillborn fetuses. The male to female ratio was 1.56:1. The overall incidence of omphalocele was 2.95 (95% CI 2.77– 3.13) and the incidence among newborns excluding fetuses was 0.9 per 10,000 (95% CI 0.81– 1.01). There was a statistically significant positive time trend in the dynamics of the overall incidence of omphalocele between 2011 and 2018. Conclusion. The evaluation of the incidence of severe malformation – omphalocele – was obtained in different regions of the Russian Federation for the first time. The incidence of this malformation tended to increase over the study period. Male gender and maternal age over 35 years can be considered as risk factors. These results can be used in planning preventive measures. Key words: congenital malformation, monitoring, newborns, omphalocele, fetuses, incidence, epidemiology


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2826-2828
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ahsan Zafar ◽  
Sidra Khalid ◽  
Talha Munir

Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of rapid diagnostic kits test for diagnosis of malaria taking microscopy as gold standard Methodology: A total of 375 cases with age range 18-65 years of either gender as suspected for malaria were included in the study. We excluded all those cases already taking anti-malarial drugs. The study was conducted at Chughtais Lahore Lab, Lahore. Required blood sample were obtained following aseptic measures. Malaria RDT SD Bioline Malaria Antigen Pf/Pan (Catalogue No. 05FK60, Standard Diagnostics Inc, Hagal-Dong, Korea, from now on referred as “SD RDT”) was used. Patients were labeled as positive or negative on the basis of reports from hematology department assessed by microscopy and patients were labeled as positive or negative Results: The mean age of the patients was 41.84±13.44 years, male to female ratio of the patients was 1.01:1. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the RDT for diagnosing malaria was 96.79%, 96.28% and 96.53% respectively taking microscopy as gold standard Conclusion: Rapid diagnostic kits is very useful reliable test with high diagnostic accuracy for diagnosis of malaria taking microscopy as gold standard Keywords: Microscopy, Rapid Diagnostic kits, Malaria,


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-30
Author(s):  
Md Ashraful Hoque ◽  
Kashfia Islam ◽  
Selina Akter

Adverse events due to platelet pheresis are not unheard of citrate related reactions being the most common. Most of these events are mild and self limiting. The current study describes adverse events in platelet pheresis using modern apheresis systems. This prospective study included 1455 platelet pheresis procedures done from July 2016 to December 2017. Procedures were performed on Hemonetics MCS+, Trima Accel and Cobe spectra cell separators. The endpoint of each procedure was a yield of 3 × 1011 platelets (PLTs) per unit. Donor adverse reaction if any was managed, reported, and documented. The median age of donors was 31 years with male to female ratio of 13:1. The median body surface area and body mass index were 1.64 m2 and 22.4 kg/m2, respectively. The mean PLT count of donors was 199.8 × 103/uL with a mean hemoglobin value of 13.6 g/dl. ACD infusion was significantly more in the Hemonetics MCS+, (P< 0.01). Donation time was least with the Trima compared to Hemonetics MCS+ (P< 0.01) and Cobe (P< 0.001). Total whole blood volume processed was higher in Hemonetics MCS+, (P< 0.01). Paresthesia due to citrate toxicity was the most common adverse reaction (65.3%), and vascular injury was observed in only five donors. The overall incidence of adverse reaction was 3.4%. Serious adverse events were not observed. The modern generation apheresis machines are more donors friendly and cause less adverse reactions compared to the older versions. Good donor screening, optimized donor physiognomic and hematological values and skilled operators are the key factors in reaction reduction by apheresis. Faridpur Med. Coll. J. Jan 2019;14(1): 27-30


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-19
Author(s):  
Roman Kidwai ◽  
Anup Sharma

Background: About 30% of patients presenting to surgical outpatient department has lower gastrointestinal (LGI) symptoms. Colonoscopy is a low risk and at the same time investigation of choice in these patients which allows visualization of the entire colon and the terminal portion of ileum. This study was done to find out the diagnostic accuracy of colonoscopy in relation to the clinical symptoms of the disease.  Methods: This was a prospective, hospital based study from February 2014 to March 2019 carried out at Nepalgunj Medical College and Teaching Hospital. The colonoscopy diagnosis was compared with the clinical symptoms and further confirmed with histological examination.  Results: 341 patients underwent colonoscopy. There were 234 (68.62%) males and 107 (31.37%) females with the male to female ratio of 2.18: 1. The age ranged from 16 to 81 with the mean age of 59.63±10.37. The most common presenting symptom was per rectal bleeding (40.34%) the after were alteration in bowel habit (17.30%), constipation (12.90%), hematochezia (11.43%). The least common indication for colonoscopy was unexplained anemia. Haemorrhoids were the most common findings consisting 32.55%. In 19.94% it was normal. Majority had various inflammatory conditions, among them 10.85% had proctocolitis, 2.34% were suspected to have ulcerative colitis. There were 17(4.98%) patients with colonic and 13(3.18%)with rectal carcinoma. 10.55% had colorectal polyps. Out of 111 patients suspected to have hemorrhoids clinically 102 had same findings on colonoscopy. Similarly 34 patients presenting with chronic diarrhea with bleeding and 59 with alteration in bowel habit where inflammatory conditions were suspected had similar findings on colonoscopy in 29 and 34 patients respectively. Similarly the suspicion of malignancy on clinical basis was also correlated on colonoscopy. The inflammatory conditions diagnosed on colonoscopy were confirmed in 85.04 % by histology. Similarly malignancy and the presence of polyps diagnosed on colonoscopy were confirmed by histology in 97.05% and in 97.22% cases respectively. Conclusion: Colonoscopy is a safe and effective investigation to diagnose various colorectal conditions. There was a correlation between the clinical symptoms and the colonoscopicdiagnosis especially in conditions like inflammatory and neoplastic colorectal diseases. When combined with histology the diagnostic accuracy can be near 100% in conditions like inflammatory and benign or malignant diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Dachrul Aldy ◽  
Rusdidjas Rusdidjas ◽  
Helena Siregar

A 6-year (1970- 1975) retrospective study of kerosene poisoning in children admitted to the General Hospital, Medan, is presented. The total number of admission was 10.643, 124 of which were kerosene poisoning. Tho mortality was 4.8%. In North Sumatera the incidence of kerosene poisoning along with the consumption of kerosene showed an increasing trend. The male to female ratio was 75 by 49 (3:2). The majority of cases were brought to the hospital within one hour after ingestion of kerosene. The presenting symptoms in the majority of cases were coughing (78.8%), vomiting (48.9%), dyspnoe 29%, fever 20.9%, brochopneumonia 12.9%, cyanosis 4.0%, and shock 1.6%. Treatment consisted of broad spectrum antibiotics, intravenous fluid, and oxygen administration. Kerosene in the household of the patients was used as fuel, either for cooking, or light source. More than 75% of the cases belonged to the lower socioeconomic class.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 645-648
Author(s):  
Bishwa Nath Adhikari ◽  
Pramod Sharma Gautam ◽  
Shishu Upadhyay ◽  
Uday Chandra Prakash

Introduction: Globally, the most common cause for diminution of vision is refractive errors and the number of patients with refractive errors is increasing day by day. The Auto-refraction (AR) is quick and patient friendly procedure as compared to retinoscopy and subjective refraction in finding out refractive errors. Hence, the accuracy of Auto-refractometer in terms of subjective acceptance (SA) should be taken into account before prescribing optical correction based on findings of that particular model of Auto-refractometer. So, this study is directed towards analysis of the accuracy of GRK-2200T Auto-retieratometer in terms of acceptance by comparing findings of AR with that of SC. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the refractive status of patient's eyes using auto refractometer (GRK-2200T auto-retierato meter) and to estimate the agreement of it in terms of accuracy in acceptance of subjective correction by the patient. Methodology: A hospital based prospective comparative study conducted on 226 eyes of 113 patients who visited out-patient department (OPD) of Ophthalmology at Nobel Medical College and Teaching Hospital (NoMCTH), Biratnagar diagnosed with Myopia, Hyperopia and Astigmatism. Duration of study was 4 months from 2nd October, 2018 to 2nd February, 2019. All data thus collected was subjected to statistical analysis by using SPSS version 22. Result The mean age of the study subjects was 26.91±7.79 years with male to female ratio of 0.47. When spherical power, cylindrical power and the axis are taken into consideration together, only 13.3% of the total tested eyes subjectively accepted the AR values unchanged. On subjective correction, 32.7% of the tested eyes accepted spherical power while 46.5% accepted cylindrical power and 50.9% accepted axis of AR unchanged. About 52.2% of the total eyes examined fall within the deviation of spherical equivalent (SE) of ±o.25D and up to 67.3% of them fall within the deviation of ±o.50D. Conclusion The auto refraction by GRK-2200T auto-retieratometer was found to be satisfactory for a preliminary refraction but not satisfactory as substitutes for conventional subjective refraction. However, auto refraction values obtained by GRK-2200T auto-retieratometer could be important in order to accurately prescribe the cylindrical power as well as its axis than the spherical component.


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