TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Forensic value of soft tissue detachments from the hyoid bone in death due to strangulation asphyxia
JO  - Advances in clinical and experimental medicine : official organ Wroclaw Medical University
A1  - Balzo, Giovanna Del
A1  - Pelletti, Guido
A1  - Raniero, Dario
A1  - Farinelli, Alessia
A1  - Uberti, Andrea
A1  - Vermiglio, Elisa
A1  - Molteni, Gabriele
A1  - Nocini, Riccardo
A1  - Gobbo, Stefano
A1  - Taus, Francesco
A1  - Eccher, Albino
A1  - Luchini, Claudio
A1  - Brunelli, Matteo
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: There are no unequivocal histopathological findings for the diagnosis of fatal asphyxia due to neck compression. From the observation of a series of asphyxiation cases, we noted, during microscopic analysis, a high frequency of "detachment" of soft tissues from the hyoid bone. This specifically refers to the presence of an optical space between the surface of the hyoid bone and soft tissues. <br><br>OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the detachment of soft tissues from the hyoid bone as specific histological evidence of death due to strangulation asphyxia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten blocks were taken from deaths due to external mechanical compression of the neck (strangulation asphyxia, group A), 22 blocks were taken from deaths for other causes without trauma to the neck (group B), and 38 blocks were obtained from living subjects that have undergone laryngectomies (group C). The presence/absence of detachments were compared between the 3 groups (A, B and C) using Fisher's exact test. <br><br>RESULTS: The detachment of soft tissues from the hyoid bone was observed in 5 cases (50%) in group A, 6 cases (27.2%) in group B, and 17 cases (44.3%) in group C. The sensitivity and specificity of the presence of the detachment in group A were 0.5 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.38-0.62) and 0.57 (95% CI: 0.45-0.69), respectively. The comparison between the 3 groups and the presence/absence of soft tissue detachment showed no statistically significant differences between the groups (p = 0.329), clarifying that soft tissue detachment is a nonspecific variable for all 3 situations. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Detachment of soft tissues has poor value as a single element to favor the diagnosis of asphyxia due to violent compression of the neck and should be interpreted as an artifactual finding, unrelated to the neck injury or injury vitality.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1899-5276
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.17219/acem/186560
ID  - ref1
ER  -