Journal of forensic and legal medicine
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Case Reports
A verified period of normal neurologic status in a young victim of abusive head trauma.
Abusive head trauma (AHT) is the leading cause of child physical abuse fatalities, and survivors frequently face life-long consequences. Victims of AHT are typically infants, and many are subjected to repeat AHT if not accurately identified and protected. Identifying the timing of AHT is often a medical-forensic process, and investigative personnel use the determination of timing of AHT to guide safety decisions for the child victim. ⋯ This case involves a 2-month-old infant victim of AHT who presented to medical care with mild neurologic symptoms that resolved without intervention from medical personnel. While hospitalized, the infant had an asymptomatic period of approximately 38 hours prior to more severe neurologic decompensation, then later returned to neurologic baseline. This case highlights the challenges in accurately timing AHT in very young victims who return to neurologic baseline by characterizing a verifiable prolonged period of normal neurologic appearance and function after AHT.
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The body packing represents an illegal drug trafficking practice across the borders of certain countries. It has experienced enormous growth in recent years. ⋯ However, reported cases of cannabis body packing appear to be rare, sometimes underestimated, despite the notoriety of cannabis in the illegal drug market and its wide consumption around the world. We report in this work a forensic case of a cannabis body packer deceased due toa stercoral peritonitis secondary to a double perforation of thesigmoid and rectal colon.