Pericardial fluid postmortem: Comparative study of natural and violent deaths

• Published in: The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology Vol. 19; no. 3; p. 266
• Main Authors: Arroyo, A, Valero, J, Marrón, T, Vidal, C, Hontecillas, B, Bernal, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.09.1998
• Subjects: Autopsy - methods; Calcium - analysis; Cause of Death; Creatine Kinase - analysis; Female; Humans; Isoenzymes; Male; Pericardial Effusion - chemistry; Pericardial Effusion - pathology; Potassium - analysis; Proteins - analysis; Sodium - analysis; Urea - analysis; Violence
• ISSN: 0195-7910
• DOI: 10.1097/00000433-199809000-00014

Thanatochemistry is an increasingly important ancillary procedure in forensic practice. Alterations are known to take place in biochemical components during the postmortem period, particularly in the blood, and both research results and their interpretation have been the object of some controversy. For that reason, emphasis has been placed on the examination of fluids that are neither altered nor contaminated as rapidly as blood after death. This study tested the hypothesis that pericardial fluid (PF) may be a suitable medium for biochemical analysis in corpses. The study sought to determine concentrations of urea, creatinine, glucose, creatinine kinase 2, proteins, calcium, sodium, and potassium, in the pericardial fluid of corpses. The study sample was divided into two groups, natural deaths and violent deaths. Intergroup results were compared, using Mann-Whitney's U test for paired data. No significant differences were obtained between the natural death and violent death groups for the parameters studied, with the exception of urea (p < .05). Further studies are required to compare these results and create the possibility for new conclusions.