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Biomedical subjects

L Sathyavagiswaran

Publications and source records attributed to L Sathyavagiswaran.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Ocular findings at autopsy of child abuse victims.

The incidence of retinal hemorrhage in child abuse victims was studied in cadavers of children that underwent autopsy in the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. One hundred ninety consecutive cases of childrens' eyes received at Doheny Eye Institute from 1985 to 1989 were included in the study. Retinal hemorrhage is the most common form of eye damage due to child abuse and is more likely to occur in infants who have been shaken than after blunt trauma to the head. Accordingly, retinal involvement is seen more frequently in younger children. The mechanism of retinal hemorrhage is unknown, but the authors' evidence suggests that it is not a direct result of submeningeal hemorrhage. The retinal hemorrhages are found most frequently in the bipolar and nerve fiber layers. They may be severe and widespread or small, scattered foci; both forms are indicative of abuse type injury. Any child who is comatose or who has other unexplained neurologic symptoms should have a thorough eye examination with the pupils dilated with emphasis on studies of the retina.

Autopsy↗
PubMed1991

The eyes of child abuse victims: autopsy findings.

The authors studied 77 pairs of eyes removed from children who had died of suspected child abuse. Forty-seven of the cases had retinal hemorrhages. Those showing retinal hemorrhages were younger children and had fewer other stigmata of child abuse. Hemorrhages are more likely to occur in cases where the child was shaken or swung than in those with severe direct head trauma. The authors recommend that examination of the eyes be included in the autopsies of all small children who died without an obvious cause of death. Experience in both processing and reading of ocular material is necessary for reliable results.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Crossbow injuries.

The crossbow is an uncommon source of fatal injury. In Los Angeles County, two crossbow homicides have occurred in the past 20 years. Following the second case, a crossbow was test-fired into a fresh pork thigh, resulting in distinctive wounds. Experimental studies also showed that the vanes of the bolt (arrow) may be a source of trace material found in the wound.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Acute and chronic pericholangiolitis in association with multifocal hepatic lymphangiomatosis.

Multifocal, lymphangiomatous lesions were found in the right lobe of the liver of a 9-year-old girl who died seven days after head trauma. We believe the lesions represent a cystic and pseudoneoplastic dilatation of liver lymphatics secondary to a posttraumatic complication, acute and chronic inflammation primarily of small bile ducts, and canaliculi (pericholangiolitis). The findings provide new evidence that inflammation and fluid overload, in the absence of a congenital malformation, are cardinal factors in the pathogenesis of some forms of lymphangiomatosis.

Bile Canaliculi↗
PubMed1987

Fatal disopyramide intoxication from suicidal/accidental overdose.

Disopyramide is an oral antiarrhythmic drug which reduces conduction velocity, prolongs duration of action potential and the effective refractory period, and exerts vagolytic properties. The drug is usually well absorbed orally. The principal use of the drug is to suppress ventricular extrasystoles with usual oral dosage of 100 to 200 mg every 6 h, until blood levels of 2 to 4 micrograms/mL are attained. The use of the drug for suicide is uncommon as it is a prescription drug. Two cases of fatal disopyramide intoxication seen at the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office will be discussed followed by a review of the literature of fatal suicidal disopyramide overdose. Case 1 was a 31-year-old male pharmacist with known history of depression and no history of heart disease. His decomposed remains were found with a suicide note and with several disopyramide tablets. At autopsy the blood level for disopyramide was 146 micrograms/mL. Case 2 is a 40-year-old male with history of alcoholism and prior suicidal attempts who regularly took disopyramide to control ventricular arrhythmias. He apparently ingested 36 100-mg tablets of disopyramide before his final collapse. At autopsy his blood level of disopyramide was 63 micrograms/mL.

Adult↗