A RARE CASE OF DEATH IN FORENSIC EXPERT PRACTICE AFTER INGESTION OF MANY FOREIGN BODIES INSIDE STOMACH

Abstract

By definition, ingestion of foreign bodies is a pathologic process in which these foreign bodies are swallowed and they enter the gastrointestinal tract through the mouth. This medical condition can provoke several life-threatening conditions and it raises huge interest among medical specialists in various medical specialties, mainly in the field of emergency medicine, psychiatry, surgery. Such cases could be seen in the field of Forensic Pathology in the process of routine autopsy examination of dead bodies. We present a case of 33-year-old man, who died in the hospital, with macroscopic and microscopic features of developed purulent peritonitis due to perforation of the stomach as a result of foreign body ingestion. In patients with proven foreign bodies inside the gastrointestinal tract, a specific algorithm for work and specific guidelines must be followed, including performing important imaging examinations, timely initiation of surgical treatment to prevent the fatal outcome, and subsequent consultation with a psychiatrist in order to clarify the underlying psycho-pathology.

Keywords

• acute peritonitis
• foreign body ingestion
• gastrointestinal tract
• autopsy findings