Evaluation of the Usefulness of Cardiac Marker Analysis for Postmortem Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction
- Author:
Jong-Pil PARK
1
;
Minsung CHOI
;
Kyung-moo YANG
;
Kyunghong LEE
;
Jeong Hwan KIM
;
Moa KIM
;
Miyoung YU
;
Hee Won YANG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2021;45(1):7-13
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
- Abstract: Acute myocardial infarction is one of the main causes of unusual death. However, diagnosing acute myocardial infarction based on post-mortem examination may be difficult; notably, it cannot be diagnosed based on postmortem inspection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the usefulness of cardiac marker analysis in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction and to review the possibility of its application in post-mortem inspections. This study included 69 autopsy cases, including 29 cases in which the post-mortem interval was ≤24 hours, performed at the National Forensic Service Seoul Institute from July to November 2018. Tests for three cardiac markers (myoglobin, creatinine kinase-MB, and cardiac troponin I) were performed in each case using portable equipment, Triage Meter. The reliability of the equipment enzyme levels according to cause of death, and factors affecting the postmortem test results were analyzed. Cardiac marker concentrations were not significantly different between the heart disease and other disease groups, and Triage Meter was not found to be suitable for postmortem examination. Therefore, we can conclude that using cardiac marker analysis in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction using portable equipment at the scene of postmortem inspection is inappropriate.
