Ginevra Malta

Università degli Studi di Palermo | UNIPA · Department of Scienze per la promozione della Salute "G. D'Alessandro"

(1) Background: Femicide is an increasing phenomenon consisting of the murder of a woman for gender-related reasons. Despite the enactment of new laws aimed at controlling the phenomenon by toughening the penalties and introducing aggravating circumstances, there is an increasing trend that testifies to the persistence of a flaw in the actual measu...

Frequent and excessive consumption of alcohol, be it episodic or sustained misuse, ranks among the top causes of mortality globally. This comprehensive analysis seeks to elucidate how alcohol misuse precipitates death, with a particular focus on associated cardiac anomalies. Notably, the phenomenon of "Holiday Heart Syndrome", linked to binge drink...

Background: high-altitude work exposes individuals to reduced oxygen levels, imposing physi-ological adaptations. These conditions can induce alterations in the cardiovascular system, po-tentially exacerbating pre-existing health issues and impacting overall well-being of workers in such environments. This study has investigated the cardiovascular...

Asbestosis is an interstitial lung disease caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers and poses a significant risk to individuals working in construction, shipping, mining, and related industries. In a forensic context, postmortem investigations are crucial for accurate diagnosis, for which the gold standard is the histopathological examination. T...

Pulmonary complications are frequently observed in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), with large airway disease being the most prevalent manifestation. In this case study, we explore the potential for Immunosuppressant, a monoclonal antibody, to induce pulmonary hemorrhage—a side effect not previously documented with its use. The subject, a you...

Frequent and excessive consumption of alcohol, be it episodic or sustained misuse, ranks among the top causes of mortality globally. This comprehensive analysis seeks to elucidate how alcohol misuse precipitates death, with a particular focus on associated cardiac anomalies. Notably, the phenomenon of "Holiday Heart Syndrome," linked to binge drink...

In the context of sustainable development, the occupational sphere must be integrally considered within health promotion frameworks, ensuring an equitable work–life balance while recognizing and amplifying the capabilities of every employee. Concurrently, there is a notable trend of physicians transitioning from public to private healthcare sectors...

Introduction Work-related stress is an occupational risk that has been linked to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). While previous studies have explored this association in various work contexts, none have focused specifically on logistics and distribution personnel. These workers may be exposed to significant job stress, which potent...

Occupational accidents, despite continuous safety updates, are still a scourge in the occupational and forensic spheres, constituting, among other things, the subject of a large share of litigation. Demographic data can help to understand the areas where the application of health surveillance is lacking. This meta-analysis sets out to analyze data...

Sodium nitrite (SN) is an inorganic salt that appears as a slightly yellowish crystalline solid, odorless, and highly soluble in water at room temperature. It is highly toxic to humans at specific doses because it can oxidize hemoglobin to methemoglobin, causing severe tissue hypoxia. A 20-year-old woman was unconscious in her bedroom and died shor...

Introduction The diagnosis of unexpected death by excluding non-natural causes, particularly in subjects with epilepsy, is a topic of interest and it is difficult to identify in the forensic field. Health professionals sometimes are faced with cases of sudden death, generally in young adults with a long history of epilepsy that require, for judicia...

A 6-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department with a history of an accidental fall a few days earlier. She presented with a fever, cough and constipation. Sars-CoV-2 infection being suspected, she was transferred to a paediatric facility for Covid-positive patients. During the diagnostic process, the clinical picture suddenly deteriorat...

Shift work, including the early start of work, compressed working weeks with 12-hour shifts and night work, especially if prolonged over many years, alters the normal sleep-wake pattern, causing short sleep with reduced quality, daytime dysfunction, and sleepiness. Recently, the effects of shift work on sleep have been investigated more consistentl...

The period between the beginning and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency generated a general state of stress, affecting both the mental state and physical well-being of the general population. Stress is the body's reaction to events or stimuli perceived as potentially harmful or distressing. Particularly when prolonged over time, it can prom...

Background: Insomnia is the perception of inadequate, insufficient or non-restorative sleep. Of all sleep-related disorders, insomnia is the most common. It is important to remember that the sleep-wake cycle also plays a central role in the genesis of anxiety and depression. The aim of our study is to evaluate the association between sleep disturb...

The need to deal with the health emergency dictated by the Covid-19 pandemic made it necessary to adopt extraordinary regulatory interventions that affected the discipline of public and private work and this as much to protect the health of the worker as a person (in terms of psycho-physical well-being) as for the protection of the same in relation...

The investigation of bone injuries is an essential topic in forensics. We sometimes have to deal with charred or dismembered human remains that have lost soft tissue, making it difficult to diagnose the mechanisms of injury that led to death. Our contribution aims to share with the scientific community how we approached two cases of very different...

Coronary artery anomalies are a heterogeneous group of congenital disorders affecting the coronary pattern with a characteristic (origin, number, number of hosts, course, etc.). They are rarely found in the population. We report the case of a 21-year-old male who died from sudden cardiac death caused by an isolated coronary ostial obstruction, seco...

Background: Cooking and fuel combustion in the indoor environment are major sources of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM), which is an excellent carrier of potentially harmful absorbed inorganic and organic compounds. Chronic exposure to RSPM can lead to acute pulmonary illness, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and lung cancer in people...

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a non-volatile, non-oxidative, hydrophilic, and stable ethanol phase II metabolite. EtG is produced through ethanol glucuronidation by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT), a phase II enzyme. EtG can be extracted from different biological matrices, including keratin ones, such as hair or nails. The purpose of this scoping re...

The use of illicit and non-illicit substances is widespread in suicides. The toxicological data may help in understanding the mechanism of death. This systematic review aimed to analyze autopsies related to suicides by consuming poison, focusing on the correlation between substance use and the country of origin to create an alarm bell to indicate t...

Almost two years after the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the knowledge of which in the infectious and therapeutic spheres is constantly evolving, attention paid to the medicolegal aspects linked to this emergency phenomenon has mainly focused on the liability implications falling on healthcare personnel. With regard to the medicolegal asses...

Italian “Gelli–Bianco” law (law n. 24 enacted by the Italian Government on 8 March 2017) introduced innovative changes and regulations regarding patient safety and healthcare workers’ (HCWs) liability. We promoted a national survey to evaluate the effect of the law on HCWs. The questionnaire was edited and distributed using the free online tool “Go...

Neuroblastoma is one of the most common neonatal tumors. It involves children in early infancy and originates from neural crest cells of the adrenal gland medulla or sympathetic glia. We report an unusual case of congenital poorly differentiated neuroblastoma with multiple metastases in the brain and cerebellum. The biophysical profile showed a pro...

Introduction: Surgical approaches to treat patients with abnormal pro-inflammatory parameters remain controversial, and the debate on the correlation between hematological parameter alteration in cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection and the increase in mortality continues. Methods: We performed a systematic review using the PubMed...

Surgical approaches to treat patients with abnormal pro-inflammatory parameters remain controversial, and the debate on the correlation between hematological parameter alteration in cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection and the increase in mortality continues. Methods: We performed a systematic reviewusing the PubMed, Scopus, and C...

RIASSUNTO Il fenomeno della violenza sessuale continua a costituire una delle piaghe più profonde della società umana, cristallizzato nel tempo, immutabile, nonostante il continuo dinamismo socio-culturale e indipendente dal grado di evoluzione. Difatti, i dati epidemiologici di tale fenomeno continuano ad essere allarmanti, come evidenziato dal ra...

Il fenomeno della violenza sessuale continua a costituire una delle piaghe più profonde della società umana, cristallizzato nel tempo, immutabile, nonostante il continuo dinamismo socio-culturale e indipendente dal grado di evoluzione. Difatti, i dati epidemiologici di tale fenomeno continuano ad essere allarmanti, come evidenziato dal rapporto OMS...

Introduction The motor vehicle crash (MVC) constitutes an important challenge for forensic pathology in order to identify the manner and cause of death. Our study focuses on a fatal accident during a rally race corresponding to MVC sub-category. Materials and method Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) was performed before the conventional autopsy...

Introduction The motor vehicle crash (MVC) constitutes an important challenge for forensic pathology in order to identify the manner and cause of death. Our study focuses on a fatal accident during a rally race corresponding to MVC sub-category. Materials and method Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) was performed before the conventional autopsy...

Introduction The motor vehicle crash (MVC) constitutes an important challenge for forensic pathology in order to identify the manner and cause of death. Our study focuses on a fatal accident during a rally race corresponding to MVC sub-category. Materials and method Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) was performed before the conventional autopsy...

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a marked increase in admissions to intensive care units. The critically ill patients’ condition from the infection resulted in their deaths. The healthcare facilities have got into trouble because of the pandemic. In fact, they had to create additional beds in a very short time and to protect health workers with persona...

In the last decade there have been an exponential increase in both the supply and demand for non invasive aesthetic procedures involving the face and the lips to contrast age changes in the perioral area. We briefly report the main non invasive aesthetics treatments in which dentists are involved and the professional liability related to the issues...

Telemedicine offers a support to traditional medicine, delivering clinical services when distance is a critical factor. Although this tool does not replace a medical examination, during Covid-19 pandemic, it reduces the spread of infection and avoids the need for a patient’s visit. It is useful in the management of chronic disorders or for patients...

Myocardial bridging is a congenital coronary pathology described as a segment of coronary artery which courses through the myocardial wall under the muscle bridge. Although the prognosis of myocardial bridging is benign, sports medicine recognises myocardial bridging as a leading cause of sudden death among young basketball, football and soccer pla...

Stefania Zerbo, Ginevra Malta, Antonina Argo Department of Health Promotion, Maternal and Child Care, “G. D’Alessandro”, Legal Medicine Section, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyCorrespondence: Stefania ZerboDepartment of Health Promotion, Maternal and Child Care, “G. D’Alessandro”, Legal Medicine Section, University of Palermo, via del Vespro...

Violence against women breaches women’s human rights and is a global public health issue that can cause devastating life-long damage. This study considers the characters of victims, abusers and traumatic bonding in heterosexual couples from a medico-legal and psycological standpoint. After considering the devastating effects on women’s health, and...

Background: Early detection of oral cancer improves survival after treatment and the quality of life. The adoption of standardized methodological protocols of screening has increased the possibilities for early identification and appropriate treatment. The informed consent must be obtained by patients before any treatment and/or surgical procedure...

The novel adamantane derivative APICA (N-(adamantan-1-yl)-1-pentyl-1H-indole-3-carboxamide) was recently identified as a cannabinomimetic indole of abuse. Despite its novel structure, APICA recalls cannabinomimetic indoles, such as representative member JWH-018. In present study, the effects of APICA (1–3 mg/kg, i.p.) were tested in C57BL/6J mice,...