Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2026
Fatal gastrointestinal complications of pica: Medico-legal findings from two forensic autopsy investigations.
СтатьяНазвание и аннотация: Перевод пока не подготовлен
Обработка статьи · этапы, ошибки и управление
Загрузка состояния…
Ошибки и ограничения
История · было → стало
Состояние обновляется каждые 5 секунд, пока блок открыт. Процент показывается только там, где известен объём работы. Пауза останавливает продолжение этапа; текущий запрос к источнику может завершиться.
Benyagoub M, Benazzouz R S, Mesbah N, Mizab A, Alem F, Guennouni Z, Iddir S, Braham L Dali, Belhadj R
Аннотация
BACKGROUND: Pica is a behavioral disorder characterized by persistent ingestion of non-nutritive substances. Although primarily described in psychiatric contexts, it may lead to severe gastrointestinal complications and death. In forensic practice, such cases raise important medico-legal issues when the cause of death is unclear.
OBJECTIVES: To describe fatal gastrointestinal complications of pica, identify morphological indicators of chronic ingestion at autopsy, and demonstrate how systematic forensic examination contributes to accurate cause-of-death determination.
METHODS: Two fatal cases of pica-related gastrointestinal complications were investigated by forensic autopsy following judicial requisition (2023-2024). Full autopsies were performed with systematic gastrointestinal exploration. Toxicological analyses were conducted and findings interpreted with clinical and investigative data.
RESULTS: The first case involved a 56-year-old man died from generalized purulent peritonitis due to gastric perforation caused by massive coin ingestion. Autopsy revealed gastric distension, pyloric perforation with fibrotic margins, and 113 metallic coins. The second case concerned a 46-year-old woman with severe intellectual disability died from terminal intestinal obstruction with megacolon following repeated ingestion of heterogeneous materials. Both cases showed morphological features consistent with chronic ingestion. Toxicological analyses were negative.
CONCLUSION: These cases illustrate fatal complications of pica and highlight the critical role of forensic autopsy in establishing cause and mechanism of death and excluding alternative medico-legal hypotheses.
OBJECTIVES: To describe fatal gastrointestinal complications of pica, identify morphological indicators of chronic ingestion at autopsy, and demonstrate how systematic forensic examination contributes to accurate cause-of-death determination.
METHODS: Two fatal cases of pica-related gastrointestinal complications were investigated by forensic autopsy following judicial requisition (2023-2024). Full autopsies were performed with systematic gastrointestinal exploration. Toxicological analyses were conducted and findings interpreted with clinical and investigative data.
RESULTS: The first case involved a 56-year-old man died from generalized purulent peritonitis due to gastric perforation caused by massive coin ingestion. Autopsy revealed gastric distension, pyloric perforation with fibrotic margins, and 113 metallic coins. The second case concerned a 46-year-old woman with severe intellectual disability died from terminal intestinal obstruction with megacolon following repeated ingestion of heterogeneous materials. Both cases showed morphological features consistent with chronic ingestion. Toxicological analyses were negative.
CONCLUSION: These cases illustrate fatal complications of pica and highlight the critical role of forensic autopsy in establishing cause and mechanism of death and excluding alternative medico-legal hypotheses.