Nonpenetrating chest trauma with injury to the heart and aorta has become increasingly common, particularly as a result of rapid deceleration in high-speed vehicular accidents, over the past 2-3 decades. The high mortality rate of cardiac injuries and possible late onset complications make blunt cardiac injuries an important challenging point for legal medicine. One hundred and ninety cases with blunt cardiac injuries in a period of 3 years were analyzed retrospectively in terms of patterns of cardiac injury, survival times, and demographic profiles of the cases in this study.

Echinococcosis is a human infection caused by the larval stage of Echinococcocus granulosus. The most common sites of infection are the liver and the lungs. Cardiac hydatid cysts are very rare, even in regions where hydatic cysts are endemic (the Mediterranean, South America, Africa, and Australia). It has been reported that cardiac involvement is seen in about 0.5-3% of human echinococcosis cases. Three cases of cardiac hydatid disease that caused sudden death and which were histopathologically diagnosed are reported. Cardiac echinococcosis is rare, but due to its insidious presentation and affinity to cause sudden death, it is important that it be identified in the histopathological examination.

Aims and Scope Eurasian Journal of Medicine (Eurasian J Med) is an international, scientific, open access periodical published by independent, unbiased, and triple-blinded peer-review principles. The journal is the official publication of Atatürk University School of Medicine and published triannually in February, June, and October. The publication language of the journal is English. The aim of the Eurasian Journal of Medicine is to publish original research papers of the highest scientific and clinical value in all medical fields. The Eurasian J Med also includes reviews, editorial short notes and letters to the editor that either as a comment related to recently published articles in our journal or as a case report. The target audience of the journal includes researchers, physicians and healthcare professionals who are interested or working in in all medical disciplines.

Hydatid disease is a parasitic infestation caused by a tapeworm of the genus Echinococcus, and it is common in Mediterranean regions. Cystic lesions cause symptoms via compressing adjacent organs or may be totally silent. Morbidity is usually secondary to free rupture of the echinococcal cyst with or without anaphylaxis, infection of the cyst or dysfunction of affected organs. The cyst of Echinococcus granulosus is commonly located in the liver and frequently causes no symptoms. Anaphylactic reactions as a result of cyst perforation generally occur during interventions such as needle aspiration or open surgery; however, the spillage of cyst fluid with intravascular spread resulting from trauma may also trigger anaphylaxis, and rare case reports of this kind are present in the literature. We report the case of a 17-year-old man who was admitted to the public hospital with a sudden onset of nausea, vomiting and fainting. After a short period of intervention in the emergency department he died. As the cause of his sudden death was unknown, a forensic autopsy was carried out by the Forensic Council of Turkey. The autopsy revealed a macroscopically non-ruptured hydatid cyst in the liver and laryngeal oedema. In histopathological examination, two scolices in the pulmonary artery and inflammatory infiltration mainly composed of mast cells in the larynx were detected. Sudden death in this case was attributed to anaphylactic shock caused by intravascular spread of the cyst contents.

OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosing superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD). MATERIALS and METHODS:The radiological records of patients who were admitted to our clinic with complaints of otologic and neuro-otologic symptoms between October 2014 and December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Among these patients, those who underwent both computed tomography and MRI and were reported to have SSCD in the temporal bone on at least one side were included in the study group. MRI records of patients with a confirmed diagnosis were then assessed for the presence of SSCD. RESULTS:The left and right semicircular canals of 52 patients were evaluated in this study. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI in the diagnosis of SSCD was 89.06% and 90%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 93.44% and 83.72%, respectively. CONCLUSION:The use of multiplanar reformats and angulation techniques during MRI assessment of patients with neuro-otologic symptoms can improve the diagnostic process for patients with SSCD. This may allow early diagnosis of the disease by using just one imaging method, which would also reduce the costs per patient during the diagnosis period.