title: Analysis of postmortem biochemical findings with regard to the lung weight in drowning.
abstract: To clarify drowning death, positive evidence for aspiration of the immersion medium and the subsequent fatal mechanism is necessary. This study investigated biochemical findings with regard to lung weight in drowning cases of adults (n=56, >18 years of age, <48 h postmortem: salt water, n=19; fresh water, n=21; brackish water, n=16), using acute cardiac death cases (n=240) as controls. The biochemical markers used in this study were urea nitrogen (UN), sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the blood and pericardial fluid (PCF). The left-to-right ratio of cardiac blood UN levels was lower for drowning, showing an inverse correlation to the total lung weight. There was a mild postmortem decrease in serum and PCF Na and Cl levels; however, left cardiac serum and PCF Na, Cl, Ca and Mg levels were higher for saltwater drowning, and left cardiac serum Na and Cl levels were lower for fresh water drowning. Correlation of the left cardiac serum level with lung weight was positive for Na, Cl and Mg in saltwater and brackish water drowning, and was also positive for Ca in saltwater drowning. There was an inverse correlation with lung weight for PCF Na and Cl levels in freshwater drowning. These findings suggest that analyses of serum and pericardial markers in relation to lung weight are useful for evaluating the composition and amount of aspirated medium when investigating drowning death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Bao-Li
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Takaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.forename: Tomomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michiue
authors.forename: Yasumori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bessho
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okazaki
authors.forename: Yasunobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamikodai
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Azuma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001806:Blood Urea Nitrogen; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002712:Chlorides / Q000378:metabolism; D004332:Drowning / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D005618:Fresh Water; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D010496:Pericardium / Q000378:metabolism; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D012623:Seawater; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002712:Chlorides; D012964:Sodium; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium