Renaud Clément

A case of atypical chronic subdural hematoma: A spontaneous rupture of dural lymphoma nodule

In forensic medicine, a chronic subdural hematoma (SDH) usually results from trauma, sometimes minimal for elderly people. The case reported here is a forensic medical description of an atypical chronic subdural hematoma. A woman aged of 40-year-old died following a coma. The autopsy and histological analyses revealed the hemorrhagic disintegration of a lymphoid nodule, a metastasis from generalized lymphoma. The combination of chronic symptomatic SDH and a tumor of the dura mater have been described, but are very rare. The possibility of trauma, even minimal, has never been excluded in these cases. In fact, the clinical picture of these patients suggested a significant movement of the brain within the cranial cavity due to the physiological decrease in brain volume. In the reported case, this particular process was excluded since the spontaneous hemorrhagic effusion produced by the meningeal lymphoid nodule was the cause of the chronic SDH. This pathophysiological explanation was possible because the entire brain and meninges were removed for histological analysis. Trauma, even minimal trauma, is not always involved in the formation of a chronic SDH.

Evaluation of problematic psychoactive substances use in people placed in police custody

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS In France, the law states that any person held in custody could be examined by a doctor. The main objective of the medical examination is to give medical evidence of health compatibility with custody. This review identifies health risks such as addictive behaviour. We wanted to know which psychoactive substances are used in this particular population, and how problematic these uses are. DESIGN AND METHODS A prospective, monocentric, open-ended study conducted via a structured questionnaire was carried out on detainees who reported having taken drugs or illegal substances. Practitioners investigated desired effects for each substance, and characteristics of use, by means of the dependence criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Problematic use was assessed when at least 3 items of the DSM IV were positive. RESULTS 604 questionnaires were examined. 90.7% of questionnaires reported tobacco use, 76.2% cannabis, 57.3% alcohol, 12.5% psychostimulants, 10.0% opiates and 0.7% benzodiazepines or Z-drugs. The frequency of problematic use was 74.6% for opiates, 44.9% for cocaine and 25.3% for cannabis. Compared to non-problematic users, problematic users were older, more likely to be jobless without financial means, more likely to have a medical history, including a greater likelihood of mental illness, and more chance of undergoing prescribed medical treatment. They included more women and more homeless people. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS These results show characteristics of psychoactive substance use in a sample of people in custody. Psychoactive substances mentioned by respondents are not different from those observed in the general population, but for certain users, the desired effects are far from the pharmacologically expected ones. For some, taking substances seems to be part of their way of life, for others it is a means to compensate for an underlying feeling of uneasiness. Furthermore, problematic users present severity criteria which seem to be greater than in psychoactive substance users in the general population.

Fatal anoxia due to rachacha consumption: Two cases reported.

Deaths due to ingesting rachacha, which is a homemade paste obtained by decocting poppy heads, are very rare. No fatalities have been recorded in scientific publications. This product is not considered to be very dangerous by its users. We are reporting the first deaths (a 30-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman), after ingesting rachacha balls and alcohol consumption during an evening with a friend. Signs compatible with acute anoxia were observed during autopsy. Toxicological analyses highlighted the presence of morphine and codeine in the blood, urine and bile, with an absence of 6-acetylmorphine. Concomitant consumption of alcohol certainly played a role in the occurrence of death. The black paste found at the scene was identified as rachacha. The mean of consumption (orally) was confirmed by the presence of morphine and codeine in the gastric contents of both victims. The analysis of hair samples was performed to reveal the substance consumption history. Therefore, a possibility of contamination by sweat and/or putrefactive liquids in the post-mortem period must be considered for the interpretation of the results. These two cases show that taking rachacha can be dangerous, especially when combined with the consumption of substances which could potentiate respiratory depression induced by morphine.

DES daughters in France: experts' points of view on the various genital, uterine and obstetric pathologies, and in utero DES exposure:

Background Compensation of diethylstilbestrol exposure depends on the judicial system. In France, girls having been exposed to diethylstilbestrol are currently being compensated, and each exposure victim is being evaluated. Fifty-nine expert evaluations were studied to determine the causal relation between exposure to diethylstilbestrol and the pathologies attributable to diethylstilbestrol. Methods The following were taken into consideration: age at the first signs of the pathology; age of the sufferer at the time of evaluation; the pathologies grouped into five categories: fertility disorders – cancers – mishaps during pregnancy – psychosomatic complaints – pathologies of “3rd generation DES victims”; submission of proof of DES exposure; the degree of causality determined (direct, indirect, ruled out). Results 61% of the cases related to fertility disorders, 28.8% to cancer pathologies (clear-cell adenocarcinoma), 18.6% to mishaps during pregnancy, 8.5% to disorders resulting from preterm delivery, and 3.4% to psychosomatic disorders. Some cases involved a combination of two types of complaints. Indirect causality was determined in 47.1% of the cases involving primary sterility, in 66.7% involving secondary sterility, and in 5 out of 6 cases of total sterility. There is direct causality between in utero diethylstilbestrol exposure and vaginal or cervical clear cell adenocarcinoma. Causality is indirect in the case of disorders linked to prematurity in third generation victims. Conclusion Causality was determined by the experts on the basis of scientific criteria which attribute the presenting pathologies to diethylstilbestrol exposure. When other risk factors come into play, or when exposure is indirect (third generation), this causality is diminished.