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Diagnostics
Special Issues
Updates on Forensic Pathology
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Updates on Forensic Pathology

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 2943

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Valentina Bugelli

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Guest Editor
South-East Tuscany Local Health Unit, Department of Legal Medicine, via Cimabue 109, 58100 Grosseto, Italy
Interests: forensic pathology
Dr. Marco Di Paolo

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Guest Editor
Associate Professor of Legal Medicine, Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: forensic pathology; cardiopathology; sudden juvenile death
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forensic sciences are constantly evolving. It has been demonstrated time and again how the multidisciplinary approach leads to innovations in all areas with repercussions from a practical point of view.

This Special Issue aims to collect reviews, original articles, technical notes, and case reports that can put legal medicine at the center, without neglecting other disciplines (such as forensic radiology, anthropology, genetics, etc.).

Only in this way can forensic science make itself modern, innovative, and advanced.

Dr. Valentina Bugelli
Dr. Marco Di Paolo
Guest Editors

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

  • forensic pathology
  • forensic anthropology
  • forensic radiology
  • genetics
  • PMI estimation
  • age estimation
  • histopathology

Published Papers (4 papers)

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14 pages, 7101 KiB  
Article
Immunohistochemical and Morphometric Analysis of Lung Tissue in Fatal COVID-19
by Ioana-Andreea Gheban-Roșca, Bogdan-Alexandru Gheban, Bogdan Pop, Daniela-Cristina Mironescu, Vasile Costel Siserman, Elena Mihaela Jianu, Tudor Drugan and Sorana D. Bolboacă
Diagnostics 2024, 14(9), 914; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14090914 - 27 Apr 2024
Viewed by 435
Abstract
The primary targets of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the lungs are type I pneumocytes, macrophages, and endothelial cells. We aimed to identify lung cells targeted by SARS-CoV-2 using viral nucleocapsid protein staining and morphometric features on patients with fatal [...] Read more.
The primary targets of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the lungs are type I pneumocytes, macrophages, and endothelial cells. We aimed to identify lung cells targeted by SARS-CoV-2 using viral nucleocapsid protein staining and morphometric features on patients with fatal COVID-19. We conducted a retrospective analysis of fifty-one autopsy cases of individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Demographic and clinical information were collected from forensic reports, and lung tissue was examined for microscopic lesions and the presence of specific cell types. Half of the evaluated cohort were older than 71 years, and the majority were male (74.5%). In total, 24 patients presented diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), and 50.9% had comorbidities (56.9% obesity, 33.3% hypertension, 15.7% diabetes mellitus). Immunohistochemical analysis showed a similar pattern of infected macrophages, infected type I pneumocytes, and endothelial cells, regardless of the presence of DAD (p > 0.5). The immunohistochemical reactivity score (IRS) was predominantly moderate but without significant differences between patients with and without DAD (p = 0.633 IRS for type I pneumocytes, p = 0.773 IRS for macrophage, and p = 0.737 for IRS endothelium). The nucleus/cytoplasm ratio shows lower values in patients with DAD (median: 0.29 vs. 0.35), but the difference only reaches a tendency for statistical significance (p = 0.083). Our study confirms the presence of infected macrophages, type I pneumocytes, and endothelial cells with a similar pattern in patients with and without diffuse alveolar damage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates on Forensic Pathology)
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14 pages, 3888 KiB  
Article
Cardiac SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Involvement of Cytokines in Postmortem Immunohistochemical Study
by Letizia Alfieri, Lorenzo Franceschetti, Paolo Frisoni, Omar Bonato, Davide Radaelli, Diana Bonuccelli, Stefano D’Errico and Margherita Neri
Diagnostics 2024, 14(8), 787; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14080787 - 9 Apr 2024
Viewed by 613
Abstract
In the context of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, significant attention was given to pulmonary manifestations. However, cardiac involvement is increasingly recognized as a critical factor influencing the prognosis, leading to myocardial damage, heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, potentially lethal [...] Read more.
In the context of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, significant attention was given to pulmonary manifestations. However, cardiac involvement is increasingly recognized as a critical factor influencing the prognosis, leading to myocardial damage, heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, potentially lethal arrhythmic events, and sudden cardiac death. Despite these findings, there is a lack of studies detailing the necroscopic, macroscopic, and microscopic cardiac changes associated with SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins in cardiac tissue using immunohistochemical techniques to assess viral tropism. The analysis of cardiac tissue samples from deceased subjects, in different stages of conservation, confirmed to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 via reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), showed immunopositivity for the SARS-CoV-2-NP viral antigen in 33% of cases. Notably, the presence of leukocyte infiltrates sufficient for diagnosing lymphocytic myocarditis was not observed. The central proinflammatory cytokines involved in the pathogenetic mechanism of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) were researched using the immunohistochemical method. A significant increase in cytokine expression was detected, indicating myocardial involvement and dysfunction during SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings suggest that the immunohistochemical detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral antigens and inflammatory cytokine expression in cardiac tissue could be crucial for a proper forensic assessment of the cause of death, even in sudden cardiac death. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates on Forensic Pathology)
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15 pages, 2986 KiB  
Article
Pathological Findings in Hanging: Is the Traditional Knowledge Correct?
by Graziano Domenico Luigi Crudele, Alberto Amadasi, Lorenzo Franceschetti and Cristina Cattaneo
Diagnostics 2024, 14(3), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14030318 - 1 Feb 2024
Viewed by 724
Abstract
Background: In forensic pathology, asphyxia presents a problem as frequently as it is thorny and challenging. Some knowledge in forensic pathology is still considered to be traditionally acquired and is not critically assessed with modern statistical or technical tools. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Background: In forensic pathology, asphyxia presents a problem as frequently as it is thorny and challenging. Some knowledge in forensic pathology is still considered to be traditionally acquired and is not critically assessed with modern statistical or technical tools. In this study, we seek to examine the injuries that are considered to be typical of cases of hanging (neck lesions, haemorrhages, and pleural and epicardial petechiae). Methods: We evaluated whether there was, indeed, a statistically significant association between these injuries and deaths from hanging as compared to non-hanging deaths. We collected 399 cases (32 deaths by hanging and 367 cases of non-hangings), built contingency tables and performed chi-square tests for each variable (lesion) examined; we also analysed this association in various subgroups of the sample (according to sex, age and weight ranges). Results: Our results did not deviate from the expected outcome based on traditional knowledge, although they do provide a more detailed demonstration and clarification of traditional knowledge regarding this topic. Conclusions: These findings provide valuable insights for future discussion, examination and deepening of knowledge that is traditionally accepted but often undersupported in the literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates on Forensic Pathology)
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9 pages, 3425 KiB  
Case Report
Hyoid Bone Fracture Pattern Assessment in the Forensic Field: The Importance of Post Mortem Radiological Imaging
by Vincenzo Cianci, Cristina Mondello, Annalisa Cracò, Alessio Cianci, Antonio Bottari, Patrizia Gualniera, Michele Gaeta, Alessio Asmundo and Daniela Sapienza
Diagnostics 2024, 14(7), 674; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14070674 - 22 Mar 2024
Viewed by 821
Abstract
Post mortem hyoid bone fracture findings may be attributable to various factors, including both the onset of acute mechanical asphyxia as it happens in manual strangulation and in charred corpses. In forensic practice, the discovery of corpses burned after death to hide their [...] Read more.
Post mortem hyoid bone fracture findings may be attributable to various factors, including both the onset of acute mechanical asphyxia as it happens in manual strangulation and in charred corpses. In forensic practice, the discovery of corpses burned after death to hide their real cause of death is not uncommon: in these cases, the diagnostic challenge is even greater, as the action of flames is capable of both masking previously generated lesions and/or generating new ones, as occurs for hyoid bone fractures. The case concerns a 76-year-old man found charred in his bedroom. Almost complete body charring made it impossible to evaluate any external damage. Post mortem computed tomography (PMCT) was performed, and an evident bilateral fracture of the greater horn of the hyoid bone was detected. Although the absence of typical charring signs had steered the diagnosis towards post mortem exposure to flames, PMCT proved to be very useful in increasing the accuracy in correctly determining the cause of death. In particular, making use of Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP) hyoid bone reconstructions, it was possible to measure the medial dislocation angle of the fracture fragments and then to establish the applied direction of force, which acted in a lateral–medial way. A manual strangulation diagnosis was confirmed. The increasing importance of performing post mortem radiological exams as a corollary for conventional autopsy has been further confirmed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates on Forensic Pathology)
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