Creatine phosphokinase in serum and cerebrospinal fluid, and microscopic findings in brain and heart in hypothermic rabbits.
Signs of hypothermia injury were studied in rabbits cooled to a core temperature of 30 degrees C by immersion in ice water and thereafter rewarmed to 35 degrees C. Anaesthetized control rabbits were kept normothermic (37 degrees C) for a corresponding time (4 h). Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity increased 24 h after hypothermia to 20-fold in serum. In cerebrospinal fluid the activity was already significantly (5-fold) increased after hypothermia and was still as high at 24 h. Smaller increase was also found in the control normothermic rabbits both in serum (10-fold) and cerebrospinal fluid (2-fold). The values had returned to the initial level after 1 week. Small haemorrhages were observed in the brain at 24 h and slight scarring was seen in the myocardium of some rabbits which had lived 4 weeks following hypothermia. The results indicate that CPK can be a useful marker in the diagnostics of hypothermia death, especially in cerebrospinal fluid, which is less affected than blood by autolysis.
Hirvonen
J
J
Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Oulu, Finland.
Huttunen
P
P
Hiltunen
K
K
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D001261:Pulmonary Atelectasis / Q000473:pathology; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000473:pathology; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits
D003402:Creatine Kinase