MATERIALS AND METHODS: In mid-September 2018, there was a single outbreak of methanol poisoning in Malaysia especially involving the state of Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. There were 33 reported deaths suspected due to methanol poisoning in this current outbreak where 11 of them were brought in to the Institute of Forensic Medicine (NIFM), Kuala Lumpur. The last outbreak was in the year 2013 with 29 deaths reported out of 44 cases.
RESULTS: There were 3 cases (27.2%) died in hospital and the remaining 8 cases (72.8%) were found dead at home and were later brought in dead to the hospital. A full autopsy was carried out for each case. Autopsy findings, as well as lab results pertaining to cases that survived and directly brought in dead, were of a different spectrum.
CONCLUSION: Methanol related deaths are almost always as a result of greed. The running truism is 'methanol poisoning is a result of deliberate addition/adulteration with industrial methanol'. Prevention of the illegal production of methanol and methylated spirits should be established to curb this matter in the future.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 172 subjects with suspected or unknown COVID-19 status brought in dead to the institute's mortuary during the pandemic in Malaysia. PMCT images reported by forensic radiologists and their agreement with conventional autopsy findings by forensic pathologists regarding COD were analysed to look at the effectiveness of PMCT in determining COD during a pandemic.
RESULTS: Analysis showed that 78.7% (133) of cases reported by forensic radiologists concurred with the COD certified by forensic pathologists. Of these cases, 85 (63.9%) had undergone only external examination and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) COVID-19 testing, meaning that imaging was the sole method used to determine the COD besides history from available medical records and the investigating police officer.
CONCLUSION: PMCT can be used as a complement to medicolegal autopsies in pandemic contexts, as it provides significant information on the possible COD without jeopardising the safety of mortuary health care workers.