Temperature-correction of abdominal impedance: improved relationship between impedance and postmortem interval

The relationship between extracellular abdominal impedance and postmortem interval (PMI) reflects the combined effects, on impedance, of postmortem cooling of the tissues and of autolysis per se. This study was performed in order to eliminate temperature change as a major factor contributing to the time course of postmortem change in abdominal impedance. Dissociation of thermal and autolytic influences was achieved by recording deep abdominal temperature at the time of impedance measurement, followed by correction of all measured impedances to their theoretically predicted values at an arbitrarily chosen temperature of 40 degrees C. Uncorrected abdominal impedance increased from 82+/-12 Ohmz, 1 h after death, to 108+/-21 Ohmz after 12 h. Impedance then decreased to 96+/-23, 89+/-22, 75+/-19, 66+/-21 and 59+/-19 Ohmz at postmortem intervals of 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 h, respectively. In contrast, corrected abdominal impedance decreased progressively from 63+/-7 Ohmz, 1 h after death, to 61+/-9, 56+/-11, 51+/-10, 46+/-10, 39+/-11 and 35+/-10 Ohmz at postmortem intervals of 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 h, respectively. The improved relationship between (corrected) abdominal impedance and PMI is of potential value in estimating time since death.