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Background: Falls from height are a common cause of marbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to examine the characteristics of the victims, the circumstances of the fall and distribution of the injuries of accidental and suicidal falls from height., Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective cross-sectional study, based on autopsies performed over 16 years (January 2005 to December 2020). The recorded variables included demographic data of the victim, height of fall, death scene findings, length of hospital stay, autopsy findings, and toxicological results., Results: Of the 753 victims of fall from height, 607 were fallers and 146 were jumpers. We found that male victims were predominant in the accidental group (86.8% vs. 69.2%). The mean age at death was 43.6 ± 17.9 years. Suicidal falls occurred in a private house in the majority of cases (70.5%), while accidental falls occurred most frequently at workplace (43.8%). Suicidal falls were higher than accidental falls (10.4 ± 7.3 m vs. 7.1 ± 5.7 m). Injuries in the thorax, abdomen, pelvis, upper and lower extremities were more frequentl in the suicidal falls group. Pelvic fractures were 2.1 times more likely to occur in the suicidal falls. Head injuries were more frequent in the accidental falls group. The survival delay was shorter in the suicidal falls group., Conclusions: our study highlights the differences in the profile of the victims and in the pattern of injuries caused by falls from height, depending on the victim's intention to fall., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Coronary ectasia is a rare vessel defect that represents a pathological and incidental finding in routine coronary angiography performed for other coronary syndromes. This defect exposes to the risk of intra-coronary thrombosis by blood stasis due to the turbulent blood flow in those dilated areas that can lead to sudden death. We report an autopsy case of a male subject suddenly deceased. A medico-legal autopsy concluded an ischemic heart failure due to a vascular thrombosis by a blood clot in a coronary ectasia. Our case report aimed to discuss the mechanisms of sudden death attributed to coronary artery ectasia., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)

The body packing represents an illegal drug trafficking practice across the borders of certain countries. It has experienced enormous growth in recent years. The medical literature is rich in publications interested in body packaging of cocaine or heroin with sometimes lethal consequences. 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., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of our study was to discuss the epidemiological features of self-poisoning suicide in Northern Tunisia., Methods: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study, including all the cases of fatal self-poisoning suicide occurring between January 2005 and December 2015., Results: In the study period, 204 cases of self-poisoning suicide occurred in northern Tunisia, with a prevalence of 0.44 cases/100 000 inhabitants/year. Among these cases, 59% were females (the sex ratio was 0.69). The mean age was 34 ± 15.3 years-old. The most common age group of the victims (28.4%) was between 20 and 29 years old. Victims were unemployed in 45% of cases and single at the time of suicide in 52%. None of the victims left a suicide note. Self-poisonings were due to the ingestion of drugs (52.5%), pesticides (42.6%), caustic products (5.5%) and Butane gas (1 case)., Conclusions: Fatal casualties of self-poisoning in Tunisia are frequently young, single, unemployed women. This pattern would allow planning of targeted preventive measures., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: In Tunisia, few data are available about self-immolation epidemiology especially in the absence of official statistics on suicides. The aim of our study was to analyze the trends of suicide by self-immolation over a period of ten years (2005-2014)., Methods: We conducted a descriptive, retrospective study including all the cases of self-immolation suicides that occurred over a period of 10 years (2005-2014) and autopsied in the Department of Legal Medicine of the Charles Nicolle Hospital of Tunis, including self-immolation occurring in Northern Tunisia as well as those committed in remaining governorates and transferred before death to the central intensive care unit of burnt in Tunis receiving patients from all over Tunisia (about 80% of cases occurring in Tunisia)., Results: 235 cases of self-immolation were collected. The average age at death was 34.1±12.43 years (range 14-83 years). Gender ratio was of 3.27. Psychiatric history was mentioned in 32.8% of cases, represented by schizophrenia in 17.9% and depression in 12.3% of cases. 12.3% had a history of suicide attempts, and 7.3% presented a history of suicidal threats. The number of casualties of suicide by self-immolation tripled after 2011 with a rising trend during the next three years and slight drop in 2014. The most reported reason in our study was decompensation of a psychiatric illness (24.7%). Self-immolation occurred most frequently in a private home (34.5%) or a public place (30.2)., Conclusion: Our study showed that self-immolation affects essentially, young men, who are unemployed and mostly having mental diseases., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.)