Records of Chrysomya albiceps in Northern Italy: an ecological and forensic perspective

Knowledge of the carrion-breeding insects present at a local level is important and necessary for defining the post-mortem interval. Climate changes and globalisation are affecting species ranges and population dynamics. In this note, we report the incidence of Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on dead human bodies and carrion in Northern Italy. These data confirm the spread of this species in the Northern regions. The partial sequencing of a 583-bp region of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene of an Adriatic population did not reveal any difference compared to the same genomic region in the African and South American populations of this specie

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: balancing ethical and clinical challenges for healthcare professionals Ethical consideration in factitious disorders

Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a relatively rare behavioral disorder affecting a child's primary caregiver, typically the mother. Ethical dilemmas that physicians may face in such situations mainly concern the medical options for best protecting the child's welfare, that are important, in clinical pediatric practice, because critical conflicts might arise between health professionals and parents. In such cases, the physician's primary obligation is to protect the children involved, whose family environment may be essential to their wellbeing. Every ethical choice should be tailored to a given child's story, which should be viewed as a whole, considering the possible consequences for the family balance, and taking the complexity of the emotional and psychological dimensions of children's relationship with their parents into account.Specific protocols, discussion of clinical cases, open communication of feelings will help doctors to deal more effectively with the families involved and ensure that treatment decisions are made in the child's best interest