Thoracic cavity fluid as an alternative specimen for carboxyhaemoglobin measurement in post-mortem toxicology.

Autor: Muleya J; Division of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa., Vuko L; Division of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa; Forensic Toxicology Unit, Forensic Pathology Service, Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa., Mader J; Division of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa; Forensic Toxicology Unit, Forensic Pathology Service, Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa., Davies B; Division of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa; Forensic Toxicology Unit, Forensic Pathology Service, Western Cape Department of Health, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: bronwen.davies@uct.ac.za.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Forensic science international [Forensic Sci Int] 2023 Aug; Vol. 349, pp. 111731. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 May 18.
DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111731
Abstrakt: Post-mortem blood is most frequently used for the measurement of carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) in post-mortem forensic cases, when investigating suspected inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO). However, in many post-mortem cases (especially severe burns and charring deaths), adequate blood specimens are not always available for toxicological analyses. Here, the availability of an alternative specimen for COHb analysis is required. This study investigated the suitability of thoracic cavity fluid (TCF) as an alternative specimen for the measurement of COHb. TCF and comparative blood samples from fifteen potential CO toxicity cases were collected into green-top tubes (containing lithium heparin) and analysed immediately after collection using a validated method on the ABL825 FLEX Radiometer CO-oximeter. Pearson's correlation coefficient indicated a strong positive relationship between the two specimens (r = 0.975, n = 10, p < 0.001). A statistical agreement between COHb concentrations from blood and TCF was demonstrated using the Bland-Altman plot, with a slight bias of 1.54 % when blood was taken as the standard. This study found that TCF would be a suitable alternative to blood for the measurement of COHb using the ABL825 FLEX blood gas analyser.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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