Phosphatidylethanol in post-mortem blood as a marker of previous heavy drinking

Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an ethanol-phospholipid adduct, formed via non-oxidative metabolism of ethanol. PEth was measured in femoral blood from 85 consecutive forensic autopsies and was detected in 35 of the cases at concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 22.0 micromol/l. Of the PEth positive case...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of legal medicine Vol. 115; no. 3; pp. 158 - 161
Main Authors Hansson, P, Varga, A, Krantz, P, Alling, C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Germany Springer Nature B.V 01.12.2001
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Alcohol Drinking - blood
Alcoholism - blood
Autopsy
Biomarkers - blood
Chromatography, Liquid
Ethanol - blood
Ethanol - metabolism
Female
Forensic Medicine
Glycerophospholipids - biosynthesis
Glycerophospholipids - blood
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Chemical
Postmortem Changes
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Summary:Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an ethanol-phospholipid adduct, formed via non-oxidative metabolism of ethanol. PEth was measured in femoral blood from 85 consecutive forensic autopsies and was detected in 35 of the cases at concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 22.0 micromol/l. Of the PEth positive cases, 12 did not have significant levels of ethanol in the blood. Two cases (both suicides involving hanging) had detectable ethanol, but no PEth present in the blood. We conclude that measurements of PEth provide indications of previous alcohol abuse in cases where this may not otherwise be evident.
ISSN:0937-9827
1437-1596
DOI:10.1007/s004140100206