Diagnosing death by drowning through the analysis of blood markers by inductively coupled plasma: mass spectrometry

• Type: Chapter or Part of a Book
• Date: 2010

Authors

Bruno Santos (Author) FMUP; Sónia Martins (Author) FFUP; Agostinho Almeida (Author) Other; Agostinho Santos (Author) FMDUP; Teresa Magalhães (Author) FMUP

Book

Title: Acta medicinae legalis et socialis

Pages: 205-208

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Health sciences

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Health sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00W-0YT

DOI: 10.14195/978-989-26-0173-1_36

Abstract (EN): Investigation of bodies recovered out of water is a complex but frequent medico-legal task. The key problem is if the victim died due to drowning or by the means of other cause and placed in water. At the moment, the diagnosis of drowning is based on some unspecific findings during autopsy (lung distension and the presence of froth in upper airways and lungs) and the results of laboratory tests. Our project aimed to evaluate the usefulness of the determination by ICP-MS of trace elements (TE) in blood of the cardiac cavities of corpses found in aquatic environment as a tool to increase the certainty of the diagnostic of death by drowning. Blood samples were collected from 18 cadavers found in water, from 2006-2008, in Oporto area. The advantage of ICP-MS compared to other instrumental analytical techniques is clear and it proved to be useful. It allowed us to perform a multielemental analysis of blood, and the results highlight the importance of this kind of approach, compared to previous studies where we are dependent on the results of a single TE.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific