Elevated body core temperature in medico-legal investigation of violent death.
Pathologically elevated body core temperature, measured at the death scene, is an important finding in medico-legal investigation of violent deaths. An abnormally high rectal temperature at any death scene may point to an underlying pathology, the influence of certain drugs or a hidden cerebral traumatism, and death by suffocation which would remain undetected without further medico-legal investigations. Furthermore, hyperthermia and fever, if unrecognized, may result in an erroneous forensic estimation of time since death in the early postmortem period by the "Henssge method." By a retrospective study of 744 cases, the authors demonstrate that hyperthermia is a finding with an incidence of 10% of all cases of violent death. The main causes are: influence of drugs, malignant tumors, cerebral hypoxia as a result of suffocation, infections, and systemic inflammatory disorders. As a consequence it must be stated, that hyperthermia must be excluded in every medico-legal death scene investigation by a correct measurement of body core temperature and a comparison between the cooling rate of the body and the behavior of early postmortem changes, notably livor and rigor mortis.
Demierre
Nadine
N
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Berne, Switzerland. ndemierre@hotmail.com
Wyler
Daniel
D
Zollinger
Ulrich
U
Bolliger
Stefan
S
Plattner
Thomas
T
D000059:Accidents / Q000401:mortality; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000401:mortality; D001831:Body Temperature; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000401:mortality; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D005334:Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000453:epidemiology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D011041:Poisoning / Q000401:mortality; D012007:Rectum; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data