title: Criminal investigations: pupil pharmacological reactivity as method for assessing time since death is fallacious.
abstract: Determination of the time since death in the early postmortem period is one of the most critical issues to be faced by criminal investigators. One of the techniques is the evaluation of the pupil pharmacological reactivity. In the present work, we aim at identifying whether an objective and single method, based on pharmacological pupil reaction, is feasible or not. Between 2002 and 2003 calendar years, we observed 309 bodies, whose eyes have been each instilled apart, within 26 hours since death, with either a myotic substance or a mydriatic solution. Our results show that the real effectiveness of pupil pharmacological reactivity as method for assessing the time since death in early postmortem period is not only questionable but even highly misleading if not replaced by alternative objective physiological tests and appropriate professional judgments by the investigators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Public Health, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. marcoorvr@libero.it
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orrico
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Melotti
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mantovani
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Avesani
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Marco
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Leo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001285:Atropine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008916:Miotics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009184:Mydriatics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D010862:Pilocarpine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012025:Reflex, Pupillary / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D008916:Miotics; D009184:Mydriatics; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D010862:Pilocarpine; D001285:Atropine