title: Estimation of the postmortem interval by analyzing potassium in the vitreous humor: could repetitive sampling enhance accuracy?
abstract: The relationship between the postmortem interval and the potassium concentration in the vitreous humor has been described by different authors. A limitation of most previous studies might be that all of the vitreous humor has been extracted in 1 sample from different subjects and that the sample was therefore inhomogeneous. In 32 traumatic deaths with known postmortem intervals, small quantities of vitreous humor have been sampled repetitively in 3-hour interval. The bodies were stored at 20°C. The average concentrations of potassium in relation to the postmortem interval were 6.11 to 14.46 mmol/L. An equation that allows accurate prediction of the postmortem interval was established: postmortem interval (h) = 2.749 × [K] - 11.978.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Milovan Milovanovic, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. mihailovic@med.bg.ac.rs
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mihailovic
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Atanasijevic
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Popovic
authors.forename: Miroslav B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Milosevic
authors.forename: Jan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sperhake
mesh_terms: D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D008875:Middle Aged; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D013696:Temperature; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011188:Potassium