Role of Vitreous Humor in Estimating Time Since Death Ruia SM1, Viswakanth B2,* 1Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, P.K Das Institute of Medical Sciences, Vaniyamkulam, Palakkad District, Kerala 2Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, P.K Das Institute of Medical Sciences, Vaniyamkulam, Palakkad District, Kerala *Corresponding author: Dr. Viswakanth B Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, P.K Das Institute of Medical Sciences, Vaniyamkulam, Ottapalam, Palakkad District, Kerala, 679 522, Mob No: 9744525554, Email id: drviswakanth@gmail.com
Online published on 7 May, 2019. Abstract Background Estimation of time since death is important for the investigation of crime. This study was done on about 200 medico legal autopsies at KIMS Hospital Bangalore. The information regarding time of death was gathered from hospital records. The data was collected and recorded on proforma and subjected to statistical analysis. Results The ratio of male and female cases was 1.739: 1. Around 42% were in the age group of 21–30 years. Majority of cases were from trauma (43%). The overall range of time since death was 0 to 72 hrs. The overall range of vitreous potassium ion concentration was 3.1 to 24 meq/L and maximum number of cases were in range between 6.1 to 12 meq/l (72%) followed by 3.1 to 6 meq/l (25%). Conclusion In our present study, we have noticed linear rise of vitreous potassium concentration upto 57 hrs and positive correlation between vitreous potassium concentration and post-mortem interval. Top Keywords Vitreous humor, Time since death, medicolegal autopsy, biochemistry, electrolyte, analysis. Top |