Die Eltern erschienen mit einem toten Säugling in der Ambulanz eines Krankenhauses. Es habe sich um eine Totgeburt gehandelt. Die Todesursache blieb zunächst unklar. Aufgrund der erhobenen Befunde war von einer Totgeburt auszugehen. Im Herzblut konnte u. a. eine Amphetaminkonzentration von ca. 1051 µg/l festgestellt werden. Histologisch wies die Plazenta Hypoxiezeichen, Thrombenbildung und Zirkulationsstörungen im Intervillosum mit unterschiedlich alten Parenchyminfarkten sowie die Zeichen einer vaskulären, fetalen Malperfusion auf. Die ausgedehnten Infarktareale in der Plazenta sind (vermutlich) durch den Konsum insbesondere von Amphetamin durch die Mutter verursacht wurden. Da sich die Konzentration von Amphetamin in einem potentiell letalen Bereich befunden hat, ist von einem intrauterinen Fruchttod durch einen vorangegangenen Amphetaminkonsum der Mutter auszugehen.
Background: "Knife attacks" have been recorded separately in police crime statistics since 2020, following the increasing media and public attention the issue of "knife crime" has received in Germany in recent years and the growing pressure on policymakers. The available data are highly heterogeneous and limited. Methods: All records of physical examinations and forensic autopsies (excluding individuals <= 14 years of age) from 2015-2024 at the forensic medicine facility in L & uuml;beck were analyzed for the groups of victims and suspects/defendants with respect to age, gender, country of birth/nationality and perpetrator-victim relationship. Results: Of n = 865 individuals examined 23.8% had been subjected to sharp forms of violence. After excluding cases of self-inflicted injuries, out of n = 198 individuals 72.7% were victims and 27.3% were suspects. Additional information was collected on a further n = 60 suspects. Among the victims 54.2% were between 21 and 40 years old and among the suspects 64.8% were in this age group, 85.4% of the victims and 93.9% of the suspects were male, 51.6% of the suspects were not born in Germany and 44.9% did not hold German citizenship. Discussion: Despite the small sample size and the selected cohort, which limits the comparability of the available data with the existing literature, various conclusions can be drawn. The most common reason for examination in the forensic medical cohort was blunt force trauma. In homicide cases, sharp force trauma predominated. No increase in sharp force trauma over the 10-year period was observed in either the examination or autopsy cohorts. Sharp force presented as a "male" phenomenon. The proportion of suspects who were not born in Germany or who did not have German citizenship was relatively high in relation to their share of the population. To gain a nuanced understanding of this issue, it would be essential to compare the years preceding the 2015 "refugee crisis" with the years that followed, using larger and representative samples.
Background During routine medicolegal examinations ordered by the public prosecutor, discrepancies were noted between pupillary reactions after adrenaline application and the documented time of death. A literature review showed that recommendations on postmortem subconjunctival adrenaline injection largely rely on the study by Klein and Klein [2]. This prompted evaluation of the method's current value for postmortem interval estimation. Material In decedents with a known time of death, 0.1 ml of adrenaline was injected subconjunctivally into one eye during external examination. The pupil size was subjectively assessed before and >= 30 min after injection and documented photographically with a scale. Objective measurements were performed using freely available software (ImageJ). For the statistical evaluation a frequency analysis was applied. Results Between 2020 and 2021, 108 cases met the inclusion criteria. A pupillary reaction was observed on site in 91 cases, mainly dilation and occasionally deformation. Computer-assisted measurements showed discrepancies with on-site assessments in 16 cases. Interobserver differences in subjective evaluation were also identified. Conclusion Although practicable in routine medicolegal work, a subconjunctival adrenaline injection does not appear suitable for reliably narrowing the postmortem interval.
Background With the increasing prescription of medicinal cannabis and the legal framework in force since April 2024 (CanG), the distinction between an administrative offense (Sections 24a and c, German Road Traffic Act, StVG) and the medication privilege has become more important. The objective was to analyze traffic control cases involving individuals who reported using medically prescribed cannabis, with a focus on proof of prescription, toxicological findings and substance-related impaired driving. Material and methods Between August 2018 and December 2025, 81 cases involving alleged medicinal cannabis use and a collected blood sample were examined. The analysis included examination reports, cannabinoid concentrations (THC, THC-11-OH, THC-COOH), reported consumption patterns and the plausibility of a medicinal cannabis prescription. Results The mean THC concentration was 13.4 ng/ml. In 73 cases a THC concentration exceeding the effective legal limit at the time of the examination (Section 24a, StVG: 1 ng/ml, or 3.5 ng/ml as of 22 August 2024) was detected, including twelve cases with indications of cannabis-induced impaired driving pursuant to Section 316 German Criminal Code, StGB. Medical documents regarding their claimed medicinal cannabis use were submitted by 44 individuals; in 37 cases no evidence was provided. In all cases there was no evidence of a medical prescription that was definitively valid at the time of driving. Conclusion Merely reporting the use of medicinal cannabis does not enable any conclusions to be drawn regarding lawful treatment or special privileges under traffic law. The results highlight the need for binding standards for the prescription as well as for proving the existence of a valid medical prescription when driving a vehicle.
