Background characteristics and neuropathological findings of medico-legal autopsy cases with chronic alcohol use and acute head injury

Jenni Kokki, Petteri Oura

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Chronic alcohol use is often associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study aimed to compare background characteristics, injury circumstances, primary head injuries, and secondary brain injuries among TBI cases with and without a documented history of chronic alcohol use. The sample comprised neuropathologically examined medico-legal autopsy cases with acute head injuries from Helsinki, Finland, over the years 2016–2022. Data on chronic excessive alcohol use were collected from medical records and police files; other background and circumstantial data were collected from medical records, police files, and cause-of-death investigation documents; and data on primary head injuries and secondary brain injuries were collected from autopsy and neuropathology reports. The dataset comprised 47 cases, of whom 19 had a history of chronic alcohol use (40.4%). Assault was the most common circumstance of injury among chronic alcohol users (47.4%) while falls prevailed among control cases (32.1%); unknown circumstances were common among both groups. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of primary head injuries or postinjury survival between the groups. As for secondary brain injuries, hypoxic-ischaemic neuronal injury was significantly more common among chronic alcohol users in the frontal cortex (84.2% vs. 28.6%), parietal cortex (84.2% vs. 32.1%), hippocampus (63.2% vs. 25.0%), and lenticular nucleus (73.7% vs. 21.4%). Our findings suggest that chronic alcohol users may not necessarily have more diverse or complex primary injuries, but they may have more extensive secondary injuries. Further research should aim to explore the potential aetiology of hypoxic-ischaemic neuronal injury among chronic alcohol users.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102796
JournalJournal of forensic and legal medicine
Volume109
Number of pages5
ISSN1752-928X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2025
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors

Fields of Science

  • Alcohol abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Central nervous system
  • Forensic pathology
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • 319 Forensic science and other medical sciences

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