THE RELEVANCE OF THE POST MORTEM DETECTION OF CARDIAC TROPONINS IN THE FORENSIC DIAGNOSIS OF SUDDEN DEATH BIOCHEMICAL, PATHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY Sami Abd El Sattar*, Nabil M. Khalil**, Assad Taher**, Noura Al Omair**, Mohamed Essam Elsheikh**, Taisseer M. Mostafa*** Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University*; Forensic Medicine Department, MOI, Kuwait**; Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University***.
Ischemic heart disease is one of the most common causes of sudden death; autopsy findings in such cases may fail to provide an evidence for myocardial injury. In clinical settings, nowadays; cardiac troponins are considered; the most preferred biomarkers for myocardial damage because they have a nearly absolute myocardial tissue specificity, as well as high sensitivity. In the present study, serum and pericardial fluid samples were obtained from three groups of deaths: acute myocardial infarction, other cardiac related deaths, and a control group of deaths. Significantly, higher serum concentrations of both cardiac troponins T&I were documented in deaths due to pathologically established acute myocardial infarction. Similar significant difference were also found as regards serum troponin T levels between other cardiac related and control deaths. No significant differences were found in pericardial fluid concentrations of either marker among the studied groups. It was also discovered that cardiopulmonary resuscitation had no significant effects on the concentrations of both cardiac markers.
June 2011