Electrolyte analysis of pleural effusion as an indicator of drowning in seawater and freshwater

Usumoto, Yosuke; Sameshima, Naomi; Hikiji, Wakako; Tsuji, Akiko; Kudo, Keiko; Inoue, Hiromasa; Ikeda, Noriaki

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2008.12.028

« Previous Next »Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 16, Issue 6 , Pages 321-324, August 2009

Electrolyte analysis of pleural effusion as an indicator of drowning in seawater and freshwater

Yosuke Usumoto, MD (Postgraduate Student)
- Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Naomi Sameshima, ABc (Research Technician)
- Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Wakako Hikiji, MD (Postgraduate Student)
- Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Akiko Tsuji, PhD (Assistant Professor)
- Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Keiko Kudo, PhD (Assistant Professor)
- Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Hiromasa Inoue, MD, PhD (Associate Professor)
- Department of Forensic Medicine and Sciences, Institute of Social and Environmental Medicine, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Edobashi 2-174, Tsu, Mie 514-8507, Japan
Noriaki Ikeda, MD, PhD (Professor)
- Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 92 642 6124; fax: +81 92 642 6126.

Received 10 June 2008; received in revised form 2 October 2008; accepted 23 December 2008.

Abstract

It is important for forensic pathologists to determine the diagnosis of drowning as well as the site of drowning. In a previous study, we propose that analysis of electrolytes in pleural effusion from rats may be useful for determining whether drowning has occurred in seawater or freshwater. To test this proposal, we measured the concentration of sodium, potassium and chloride ions and total protein in pleural effusion from 40 autopsy cases: 24 involving seawater drowning, 9 freshwater drowning and 7 no drowning. The concentrations of sodium and chloride ions in pleural effusion showed a significant difference between seawater drowning and freshwater drowning. The concentration of potassium ions and total protein showed no difference between each group, although they increased in proportion to the postmortem interval in cases of both seawater and freshwater drowning. These results are almost same as our previous study and, thus, the quantitative analysis of electrolytes in pleural effusion may be useful for determining whether drowning has occurred in seawater or freshwater.

Keywords: Drowning, Pleural effusion, Electrolytes, Seawater, Freshwater