The role of the phenomenon of postmortem redistribution in forensic cases
Abstract
It has been established in several studies that a postmortem blood sample examination is not always a reliable reflect of blood sample examination during life. There are a large number of variables affecting the blood concentration of foreign substances in a living individual, in the other hand, there are also a number of factors that can change their levels after death. Although the underlying mechanisms involved in post mortem redistribution of drugs are not very clearly defined, some main factors can contribute to this phenomenon, including physicochemical properties of the drug, the time interval between death and sampling, the action of microorganisms, the postmortem gastric diffusion and the position of the body at the time of death. The aim of this paper is to understand the phenomenon and discuss the role of site and time-dependent variations in post mortem redistribution in forensic cases.
Introduction …show more content…
In 1975, it was first reported a drug comportment after death. Host and Benstead (1975) stated that blood samples collected from three different sites (right ventricle, femoral vein and neck veins) had significantly different concentrations of digoxin, and the blood collected from the heart cavity presented higher digoxin concentration than blood from femoral and neck veins (HOST and BENSTEAD, 1975). However, it was only in 1985 that the term "postmortem redistribution" was used to refer to the phenomenon observed in biological samples of dead bodies (KOREN AND PARKER, 1985). Since then, PMR of several drugs have been studied and reported in the literature, including drugs that showed postmortem increases of concentration, as well as digoxin presented (HILBERG et al.,
Abstract
It has been established in several studies that a postmortem blood sample examination is not always a reliable reflect of blood sample examination during life. There are a large number of variables affecting the blood concentration of foreign substances in a living individual, in the other hand, there are also a number of factors that can change their levels after death. Although the underlying mechanisms involved in post mortem redistribution of drugs are not very clearly defined, some main factors can contribute to this phenomenon, including physicochemical properties of the drug, the time interval between death and sampling, the action of microorganisms, the postmortem gastric diffusion and the position of the body at the time of death. The aim of this paper is to understand the phenomenon and discuss the role of site and time-dependent variations in post mortem redistribution in forensic cases.
Introduction …show more content…
In 1975, it was first reported a drug comportment after death. Host and Benstead (1975) stated that blood samples collected from three different sites (right ventricle, femoral vein and neck veins) had significantly different concentrations of digoxin, and the blood collected from the heart cavity presented higher digoxin concentration than blood from femoral and neck veins (HOST and BENSTEAD, 1975). However, it was only in 1985 that the term "postmortem redistribution" was used to refer to the phenomenon observed in biological samples of dead bodies (KOREN AND PARKER, 1985). Since then, PMR of several drugs have been studied and reported in the literature, including drugs that showed postmortem increases of concentration, as well as digoxin presented (HILBERG et al.,