Citation

Maeda H, Zhu BL, Ishikawa T, Oritani S, Michiue T, Li DR, Zhao D, Ogawa M. Forensic Sci. Int. 2006; 161(2-3): 141-143.

Affiliation

Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Abeno, Japan. legalmed@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.01.016

PMID

16842951

Abstract

This study confirmed post-mortem ethanol concentrations in pericardial fluid and bone marrow aspirate in comparison with those in the blood in medicolegal autopsy cases (n = 140, within 48 h post-mortem). The specimens were examined by head-space gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Ethanol concentrations in the pericardial fluid (y) were approximately equivalent to those in peripheral blood (x): y = 0.99x + 0.02, n = 44, r = 0.972. A high stomach ethanol concentration (>10 mg/ml) appeared to mildly affect the pericardial levels. There was no significant interference in drowning cases. Ethanol concentrations in bone marrow aspirates (y) also showed a good correlation with those in the peripheral blood (x): y = 0.77 x + 0.02, n = 20, r = 0.981. A dissociation was observed in cases of delayed death from hemorrhagic/traumatic shock and elderly victims. These findings suggest that pericardial fluid and bone marrow aspirate can be used as an alternative material when adequate blood specimens are not available.

Language: en