Intracranial insertion of a nasogastric tube in a case of homicidal head trauma

A case of accidental intracranial penetration of a 29-cm-long portion of na sogastric tube (NGT) in a 27-year-old female victim of a severe homicidal s kull and brain trauma is reported. Accidental penetration of the NGT occurr ed through a large fracture of the ethmoid lamina cribrosa. In addition to a systematic review of previously reported cases, circumstantial data, clin ical aspects, and autopsy data have been analyzed to draw medicolegal consi derations concerning the connection between death and insertion of an NGT, which may also contribute to the ascertaining of any possible professional responsibility of medical staff, in a case fraught with numerous legal comp lications.