Biochemical analysis of vitreous humor and synovial fluid in the estimation of early postmortem interval: A meta-analytical approach.

Eugénia Cunha, Maria Gabriela Duarte Morais Vieira, Rafael Queiroz da Trindade, Raíssa Bastos Vieira, Carlos Antonio Vicentin-Junior, Nicole Prata Damascena, Melina Calmon Silva, Analany Pereira Dias Araujo, Bianca Marques Santiago, Paulo Ricardo Martins-Filho, Carlos Eduardo Palhares Machado, Alexandre Raphael Deitos

Journal: Journal of forensic and legal medicine 2024;108():102782

PMID: 39454520

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

The estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is a significant challenge in legal medicine and forensic sciences due to the dynamic and continuous decomposition of organisms after death. Thanatochemistry has emerged as a promising area to estimate PMI by measuring the concentrations of postmortem biochemical markers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize evidence on postmortem biochemical alterations in vitreous humor (VH) and synovial fluid (SF) to estimate early PMI. Comprehensive searches of electronic databases identified studies measuring postmortem biomarker concentrations in both matrices. Our analysis included three meta-analytical approaches: calculating standardized mean differences to assess variations in biochemical parameters, executing correlation meta-analysis (ρ) to explore relationships between these parameters and PMI, and conducting meta-regression to derive a predictive model. Results from five eligible studies indicated no correlation between sodium levels and PMI in both matrices. However, a strong correlation was found between potassium levels and PMI in VH (ρ = 0.69; 95 % CI 0.52 to 0.86) and SF (ρ = 0.81; 95 % CI 0.75 to 0.87), with the meta-regression yielding the optimal predictive equation for SF: [K+] = 6.15 + 0.21 × PMI. These findings support the use of potassium as a reliable biomarker for PMI estimation, particularly in SF.

Address: Graduate Program in Pathology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Investigative Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Sergipe, Sergipe, Brazil. Electronic address: [email protected].; Graduate Program in Pathology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Investigative Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Sergipe, Sergipe, Brazil.; Investigative Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Sergipe, Sergipe, Brazil; Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Sergipe, Brazil.; National Center for the Dissemination of Forensic Sciences, Brazilian Federal Police, Distrito Federal, Brazil.; National Institute of Criminalistics, Brazilian Federal Police, Distrito Federal, Brazil.; Graduate Program in Oral Biology, Piracicaba Dental School, State University of Campinas, UNICAMP, São Paulo, Brazil.; Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, University of Coimbra, Portugal; National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Lisbon, Portugal.; Graduate Program in Dentistry, Federal University of Paraiba, Paraiba, Brazil.; Graduate Program in Pathology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; National Institute of Criminalistics, Brazilian Federal Police, Distrito Federal, Brazil.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102782

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MeSH Terms: Vitreous Body, Postmortem Changes, Humans, Synovial Fluid, Potassium, Biomarkers, Sodium