The role of trauma in postmortem blood alcohol determination |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Allegheny County Department of Laboratories, 10 County Office Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA;2. Duquesne University, School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA 15282, USA;1. ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, P.le Enrico Fermi 1, Portici (NA), Italy;2. Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK;3. CNR–SPIN, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, I-80126 Napoli, Italy;4. Istituto di Ricerche sulla Combustione, CNR, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy;1. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Piazzale Vincenzo Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy;2. Istituto di Ricerche sulla Combustione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Piazzale Vincenzo Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy;1. Department of Forensic Medicine and Medicolegal Expertises, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, University Hospital, Martin, Slovak Republic;2. Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, University Hospital, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic;1. Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ), Departamento de Alimentos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;2. Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Faculdade de Veterinária, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;3. Instituto Federal do Paraná (IFPR), Paranavaí/PR, Brazil;4. Embrapa Agroindústria de Alimentos (CTAA), Avenida das Américas, Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;1. University of Groningen, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Department of Pharmacy, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG Groningen, The Netherlands;2. Netherlands Forensic Institute, Laan van Ypenburg 6, 2497GB The Hague, The Netherlands;3. University of Groningen, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Pharmaceutical Analysis – Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 973AV Groningen, The Netherlands;4. University of Groningen, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 973AV Groningen, The Netherlands;5. University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Hanzeplein 1, 9713GZ Groningen, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | In postmortem cases, a blood sample is frequently obtained by transthoracic (TT) puncture. The purpose of this study was to determine if, in traumatic death, blood samples collected by TT provided a valid sample for blood alcohol analysis. A retrospective study (1980–1986) was conducted to evaluate possible contamination of blood by GI alcohol in traumatic death cases. Out of 6000 cases reviewed, 19 cses with BACs >500 mg/dl were found and 8 of these cases involved traumatic death with GI laceration and/or transection. The results of this study support the hypothesis that blood samples from the 8 cases had been contaminated, resulting in a falsely elevated BAC. A transthoracic study (1987–1989) was conducted under controlled conditions, where blood alcohol content of TT blood samples was compared with samples collected from the intact heart chamber. Seven out of 28 cases of traumatic injury revealed trauma to the GI tract. The results showed that when GI traumatic injury occurs and unabsorbed ethanol is present in the stomach, contamination of TT blood samples occurs and artificially elevated BACs are obtained. It is recommended that, in cases of traumatic injury, heart blood samples from the intact heart chamber, as well as samples of additional biological fluids, be collected to rule out the possibility of contamination and to ensure that the BAC used for forensic interpretation is accurate. |
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