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[Enzyme chemical studies of pericardial fluid]
E Miltner1, W Fiehn, G Schmidt
1Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universität Heidelberg, Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
Insights
This study analyzed five enzyme activities in pericardial fluid across various death types. While cardiac death showed significant differences from head trauma, enzyme levels varied widely, preventing definitive group associations.
Area of Science:
- Forensic biochemistry
- Biomarker analysis in post-mortem fluids
Context:
- Investigating the utility of pericardial fluid enzyme analysis in determining cause of death.
- Examining lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (GOT), alanine aminotransferase (GPT), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (gamma-GT) activities.
Purpose:
- To assess whether specific enzyme activity profiles in blood-free pericardial fluid can differentiate between various causes of death.
- To evaluate the potential of these enzymes as indicators in forensic investigations.
Summary:
- Enzyme activities (LDH, CK, GOT, GPT, gamma-GT) were measured in pericardial fluid from seven distinct death scenarios.
- Significant differences were observed between sudden cardiac death and head trauma (p<0.01) for overall enzyme profiles.
- Creatine kinase (CK) levels in sudden cardiac death also differed significantly from poisoning deaths (p<0.05), but wide result ranges limit definitive conclusions.
Impact:
- Highlights the potential, yet limitations, of pericardial fluid enzyme analysis in forensic pathology.
- Suggests that while some enzymes may show differential patterns, a single enzyme value is insufficient for reliable cause-of-death determination.
Abstract:
The authors examined the enzyme activities of LDH, CK, GOT, GPT and gamma-GT in blood-free pericardial fluid. The cases were divided into seven groups: a shot in the head with instant death, sudden cardiac death, poisoning, brain death with a long survival time, sudden infant death syndrome, and asphyxia. Taking all five enzymes into consideration, the cases of cardiac death differed significantly on the 1% level from the head shooting. However, concerning CK sudden cardiac death differed on the 5% level from the deaths as a result of poisoning. The wide range of the results, however, does not permit any reliable association of one single value with any of the respective groups.