Medical Examiner Review of the Characteristics of Fire-Related Homicides
| Autor: | Theodore Brown, Carl J Schmidt, Kyle S. Conway |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Forensic pathology
medicine.medical_specialty business.industry 010401 analytical chemistry Medical examiner Poison control Autopsy Original Articles 01 natural sciences Occupational safety and health 0104 chemical sciences Pathology and Forensic Medicine 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Homicide Injury prevention Emergency medicine medicine 030216 legal & forensic medicine business Cause of death |
| Zdroj: | Acad Forensic Pathol |
| ISSN: | 1925-3621 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1925362120964377 |
| Popis: | While fire-related deaths are regularly encountered by medical examiners, fire-related homicides are relatively uncommon. Although some large retrospective studies of fire-related deaths have been performed, few large studies have specifically reviewed fire-related homicides. Autopsy, scene investigation, and ancillary studies were reviewed for 38 fire-related homicides evaluated at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office in Detroit, Michigan. The largest proportion of cases were inhalation-related deaths in dwelling fires (n = 21, 55%), followed by deaths from thermal injury after immolation (n = 8, 21%) and traumatic death with contemporaneous or subsequent immolation (n = 8, 21%). There was one case of postmortem immolation. Although carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels played a significant role in evaluation of these cases, no single factor was diagnostic of a particular cause or manner of death. Fire-related homicides present unique diagnostic challenges because multiple insults frequently contribute to the cause death. Death at the scene and COHb level above 10% are the most useful factors in establishing smoke and soot inhalation as the cause of death. Some autopsy findings are helpful in establishing or ruling out smoke and soot inhalation as contributing to or sole cause of death, but an evaluation of the entire circumstances and autopsy findings is necessary. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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