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Diagnostics
Special Issues
Forensic Diagnosis: From New Method Development to Data Interpretation
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Forensic Diagnosis: From New Method Development to Data Interpretation

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 3466

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pietro Zuccarello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical, Surgical and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95121 Catania, Italy
Interests: forensic toxicology; method validation; post mortem redistribution; drug-related death
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forensic toxicology is an ever-evolving multidisciplinary science. Toxicology investigations are often at the center of medical–legal issues. They begin with the development and validation of analytical methods with the aim to obtain data on possible psychotropic substance intake. The ever-increasing number of drugs and other psychoactive substances available on the market makes the harmonization of precise and accurate analytical methods increasingly important.

This is only the first step that leads the toxicologist, together with the medical examiner and the forensic pathologist, to the forensic diagnosis. The interpretation of the chemical–toxicological data, together with the autopsy, histopathological and circumstantial data, is fundamental in order to determine the relationship between the exposure to one or more substances and the death or the acute or chronic psychophysical impairment.

This Special Issue aims to gather a collection of cutting-edge research that may help to improve the quality of forensic diagnosis. We welcome submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics: the development of new analytical methods, the interpretation of drug-related death cases and epidemiology related to early drug use or abuse and to car crashes under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Dr. Pietro Zuccarello
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • drug-related death
  • car crashes
  • psychophysical drug impairment
  • method validation
  • forensic toxicology
  • legal medicine
  • forensic diagnosis
  • poisoning
  • drug regulation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 202 KiB  
Article
Post Mortem Paliperidone Blood Concentrations Following Long-Acting Injectable Treatments
by Pietro Zuccarello, Giulia Carnazza, Antonino Petralia and Nunziata Barbera
Diagnostics 2025, 15(10), 1290; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15101290 - 21 May 2025
Abstract
Background/Objectives: I Paliperidone is an antipsychotic recently added into the market in various formulations. There are few data about safety and on therapeutic, toxic, or lethal blood concentrations. Currently, the published analytical methods are often applied to serum or plasma that are not [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: I Paliperidone is an antipsychotic recently added into the market in various formulations. There are few data about safety and on therapeutic, toxic, or lethal blood concentrations. Currently, the published analytical methods are often applied to serum or plasma that are not obtained from cadaveric blood. Alternatively, aliquots of high volume of whole blood are used, but often in forensic investigations using samples at very small quantities. The aims of the present study were (a) to develop an analytical method to detect and quantify paliperidone in whole blood using only a small sample volume (10 µL) and (b) to summarize data on post-mortem blood analysis obtained from authentic autopsy cases. Methods: Method validation was carried out on 10 µL of whole blood, extracted by LLE and analyzed by LC-MS. Paliperidone concentrations obtained from blood analysis of 16 authentic autopsy cases were reported. Results: The method showed a good linearity and sensitivity, a normal distribution, the absence of anomalous values, an interday RSD% always less than 10%, and an 80–120% recovery, as required by AAFS guidelines. Femoral blood concentrations obtained from authentic autopsy cases ranged between 23.4 and 146.9 ng/mL. Conclusions: This method is to be used properly in all cases where it is necessary (a) to monitor the therapeutic adherence of patients, (b) to establish the psycho-physical conditions of the treated subject at the time of the death, and (c) to ascertain if the drug may have played a causal role in the obitus. This study reported the first data obtained from post-mortem investigation of subjects treated with paliperidone LAI. Cadaveric blood concentrations could be higher than ante-mortem reference values due to post-mortem redistribution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forensic Diagnosis: From New Method Development to Data Interpretation)

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 972 KiB  
Review
A Comprehensive Review on Alcohol Abuse Disorder Fatality, from Alcohol Binges to Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy
by Antonina Argo, Walter Pitingaro, Maria Puntarello, Roberto Buscemi, Ginevra Malta, Tommaso D’Anna, Giuseppe Davide Albano and Stefania Zerbo
Diagnostics 2024, 14(11), 1189; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14111189 - 5 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2767
Abstract
Frequent and excessive consumption of alcohol, be it episodic or sustained misuse, ranks among the top causes of mortality globally. This comprehensive analysis seeks to elucidate how alcohol misuse precipitates death, with a particular focus on associated cardiac anomalies. Notably, the phenomenon of [...] Read more.
Frequent and excessive consumption of alcohol, be it episodic or sustained misuse, ranks among the top causes of mortality globally. This comprehensive analysis seeks to elucidate how alcohol misuse precipitates death, with a particular focus on associated cardiac anomalies. Notably, the phenomenon of “Holiday Heart Syndrome”, linked to binge drinking, is recognized for inducing potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Moreover, persistent alcohol consumption is implicated in the development of alcoholic cardiomyopathy, a condition that underlies heart failure and arrhythmic disturbances of the heart. Additionally, individuals undergoing withdrawal from alcohol frequently exhibit disruptions in normal heart rhythm, posing a risk of death. This review further delves into additional alcohol-related mortality factors, including the heightened likelihood of hypertension, cerebrovascular accidents (strokes), and the connection between excessive alcohol use and Takotsubo syndrome. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forensic Diagnosis: From New Method Development to Data Interpretation)
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