LAPSE:2021.0643
Published Article
LAPSE:2021.0643
A Comparative Study of Ethanol Concentration in Costal Cartilage in Relation to Blood and Urine
July 28, 2021
Blood is not always available in forensic autopsies, therefore, the search for alternative sampling materials is needed. This study aimed at examining if ethanol can be detected in costal cartilage and to investigate if different forms of costal cartilage can give accurate information about ethanol concentration in the blood or urine of human cadavers (n = 50). Ethanol concentration in samples of unground costal cartilage (UCC), ground costal cartilage (GCC), femoral venous blood, and urine was analyzed using a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Due to Polish law, we used two different cut-off points: the blood alcohol concentration >0.2 mg/mL defined as the ‘after use’ condition, and the blood alcohol concentration >0.5 mg/mL defined as the ‘state of insobriety’. Based on the constructed receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves, the optimal cut-off point for ethanol content as the ‘after use’ condition was 0.273 mg/g for the UCC method and 0.069 mg/g for the GCC method. Analysis of the Areas under a ROC Curve (AUC) showed that both methods present excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUCUCC = 0.903; AUCGCC = 0.984). We demonstrated that it is possible to detect ethanol in the costal cartilage and showed that ethanol concentrations are determined in GCC samples with greater accuracy.
Record ID
Keywords
alternative material, costal cartilage, Ethanol, gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID), post mortem analysis
Subject
Suggested Citation
Tomsia M, Nowicka J, Skowronek R, Woś M, Wójcik J, Droździok K, Zorychta M, Javan GT, Chełmecka E. A Comparative Study of Ethanol Concentration in Costal Cartilage in Relation to Blood and Urine. (2021). LAPSE:2021.0643
Author Affiliations
Tomsia M: Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland [ORCID]
Nowicka J: Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Skowronek R: Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Woś M: Students Scientific Society, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Wójcik J: Students Scientific Society, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Droździok K: Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Zorychta M: Department of Engineering and Biomedical Materials, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 18 A Stanisława Konarskiego Street, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Javan GT: Forensic Science Programs, Physical Sciences Department, Alabama State University, 915 S. Jackson Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, USA
Chełmecka E: Department of Statistics, Department of Instrumental Analysis, School of Pharmacy with Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia, 30 Ostrogórska Street, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland [ORCID]
Nowicka J: Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Skowronek R: Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Woś M: Students Scientific Society, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Wójcik J: Students Scientific Society, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Droździok K: Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Zorychta M: Department of Engineering and Biomedical Materials, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 18 A Stanisława Konarskiego Street, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Javan GT: Forensic Science Programs, Physical Sciences Department, Alabama State University, 915 S. Jackson Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, USA
Chełmecka E: Department of Statistics, Department of Instrumental Analysis, School of Pharmacy with Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia, 30 Ostrogórska Street, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland [ORCID]
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
8
Issue
12
Article Number
E1637
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-12-11
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
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Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: pr8121637, Publication Type: Journal Article
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Published Article
LAPSE:2021.0643
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External Link
doi:10.3390/pr8121637
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Version History
[v1] (Original Submission)
Jul 28, 2021
Verified by curator on
Jul 28, 2021
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v1
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https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2021.0643
Original Submitter
Calvin Tsay
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