Medico-legal study on prediction of the interval between alcohol intoxication and death

根据乙醇在体液中的吸收、分布和排出不均匀的原则，通过测量1999年4月至2003年3月期间尸检案件中几种体液的酒精浓度，调查了预测开始或结束时间与死亡之间间隔的可能性。85例中毒致死病例的尸体体液中乙醇浓度的相关系数为：心血/股静脉血：0.923，心血/尿：0.848，心血/脑脊液：0.926，心血/玻璃体：0.796，股静脉血/尿：0.860，股静脉血/脑脊液：0.905，股血/玻璃体：0.905，尿/脑脊液：0.772，尿/玻璃体：0.902，脑脊液/玻璃体：0.872。在酒精中毒与死亡间隔较短的病例中，血液酒精浓度(BAC)/玻璃体酒精浓度（VHAC）比较低，而在间隔较长的病例中，血液酒精浓度(BAC)/玻璃体酒精浓度（VHAC）比较高的趋势，正如预期的那样。估计酒精中毒和死亡之间的时间取决于两个参数的比较假设，1)几种体液中酒精浓度的明显差异和2)关于开始或结束酒精摄入时间的明确信息，可以预测间隔。虽然在本研究中，对于具有必要信息的意外的少数病例，未能成功地创建出在有限时间内预测区间的态图，但希望通过进一步的调查，以相同的方法获得更多合适的病例，得到更准确的结论。

The possibility of prediction of the interval between the commencing or finishing time and death was surveyed by measuring alcohol concentrations of several body fluids obtained from the autopsy cases examined during the period starting April, 1999 up to and including March, 2003, based upon the principle that absorption, distribution and discharge of ethanol are unequal in the body fluids. The correlation coefficients of ethanol concentrations amongst the cadaveric body fluids of 85 intoxicated fatal cases were as follows; heart blood / femoral venous blood: 0.923, heart blood / urine: 0.848, heart blood / cerebrospinal fluid: 0.926, heart blood / vitreous humor: 0.796, femoral venous blood / urine: 0.860, femoral venous blood / cerebrospinal fluid: 0.905, femoral blood / vitreous humor: 0.905, urine / cerebrospinal fluid: 0.772, urine / vitreous humor: 0.902, cerebrospinal fluid / vitreous humor: 0.872. The tendency that the ratios of blood alcohol concentration(BAC)/vitreous humor alcohol concentration(VHAC) were lower in the cases with shorter intervals between alcohol intoxication and death, whereas they were higher in the cases with the longer intervals, as it was expected. The estimation of the period between alcohol intoxication and death depends on the hypothesis that comparison of two parameters, 1)clear difference of alcohol concentration in several body fluid and 2)clear information about the time of starting or ending alcohol intake, enables the prediction of the interval. Though it was not successful to create nomograms for predicting the interval within a limited period in this study for unexpectedly small number of cases with necessary information, it is expected that a more accurate conclusion will be obtained by a further survey with much more proper cases in the same method.