Postmortem diagnosis of hypothermia.

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_B1EBC2CBE49E
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Review (review): journal as complete as possible of one specific subject, written based on exhaustive analyses from published work.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Postmortem diagnosis of hypothermia.
Journal
International Journal of Legal Medicine
Author(s)
Palmiere C., Teresiński G., Hejna P.
ISSN
1437-1596 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0937-9827
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2014
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
128
Number
4
Pages
607-614
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article Publication Status: ppublish Document Type: Review PDF: Review Article
Abstract
The identification of hypothermia as the cause of death has always been somewhat problematic in forensic pathology because of unspecific, inconstant, or even negative macroscopic and microscopic findings. Though the simultaneous presence of frost erythema, Wischnewski spots, hemorrhages into the synovial membrane, bloody discoloration of synovial fluid of the knee, and basal vacuolization of the renal tubular epithelial cells has been indicated as strongly supportive of fatal hypothermia, their absence does not allow the diagnosis of hypothermia to be ruled out. Postmortem biochemical investigations are valuable in detecting adaptation responses to cold stress and metabolic changes that occur following cold exposure. However, ethanol intoxication prevents appearance of adaptation responses to cold, rendering the diagnosis less obvious. Immunohistochemistry, postmortem imaging, and molecular pathology have shown promising results, although at present, they do not provide pathognomonic signs of fatal hypothermia. The aim of this article is to present a review of the literature covering the significance of different postmortem investigations that are associated with hypothermia fatalities.
Pubmed
Web of science
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05/09/2014 17:15
Last modification date
09/09/2021 6:13
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