ISSN 2415-3060 (print), ISSN 2522-4972 (online)
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УЖМБС 2019, 4(6): 32–39
https://doi.org/10.26693/jmbs04.06.032
Experimental Medicine and Morphology

On the Possibility of Identification and Determination of the Quantitative Content of Ethyl Alcohol in Biological Fluid (Saliva, Blood, Urine) by Indicative and Evidence-Based Methods in Deceased and Fatal Patients

Babkina O. 1, Matyukhin D. 2, Ushko I. 1, Danylchenko S. 3, Shalomitsky V. 2
Abstract

The article presents data from literary sources and our own studies on the possibility of identifying and determining the quantitative content of ethyl alcohol in dead in biological fluid (saliva, blood, urine) using indicative and evidence-based methods to improve the diagnosis of mild alcohol intoxication in the early post-mortal period in emergency situations. The possibility of using indicator test strips as an indicative method for detecting the fact of ethyl alcohol presence and determining its quantitative content in the saliva of those who died and died from injuries in emergency situations, conflicts in the absence of the necessary conditions for the storage of blood and urine (lack of power, impossibility freezing of objects, storage, destruction of objects during transportation, etc.). The purpose of this work was demonstration of the possibility and development of a set of criteria for improving the accuracy of detecting the fact of the presence of ethyl alcohol and determining its quantitative content in the deceased and dead as a result of trauma in emergency situations by orientation and evidence methods. Material and methods. The study material was biological fluids (saliva, blood, urine) of 20 corpses of male and female, aged from 20 to 60 years, who died from injuries at a known time of injury and death in the presence of alcohol and were subjected to autopsy at the Department of Forensic Science medical examination of Luhansk region. Blood and urine sampling were carried out at the temperature in the morgue from + 16 to 25 C, and relative humidity of 40-60%. The research used indicator test strips to detect the presence of ethyl alcohol and determine its quantitative content in the saliva of the deceased as a guideline, and gas-liquid chromatography to detect the presence of ethyl alcohol and determine its quantitative content in the blood and urine by the evidentiary method with subsequent statistical analysis of the obtained results. Results and discussion. In the course of our research we established new data on the possibility of detecting and determining the quantitative content of ethyl alcohol in the victims’ saliva, which were further confirmed by the results of chromatographic examination of the blood and urine of the victims, who were in a state of mild alcohol intoxication. The data found were very relevant for timely determination of the presence or absence of alcohol intoxication, especially in the event of emergencies and military conflicts, when there were difficulties in the collection of biological fluids, their transportation, limited technical equipment of laboratories, etc. We also proved that the method of using indicator strips was appropriate for solving the problem of detecting high-quality and semi-quantitative alcohol content in the saliva of the victims of mechanical trauma. This test for alcohol in saliva had a high sensitivity to the primary alcohols in the biological fluid, namely: ethanol, propanol, and methanol. The method for detecting the content of ethanol in saliva was based on a highly specific enzymatic reaction of oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehyde and hydrogen peroxide. Due to the action of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of the enzyme peroxidase oxidation of chromogen occurs, resulting in a colored compound. It should be noted that the degree of color is proportional to the alcohol content of the saliva, the intensity and color of the strip indicates the concentration of alcohol in the sample, which is further determined by the color scale. The evaluation of the result by qualitative determination of ethyl alcohol (presence) was performed by changing the color of the sensory part of the strip, which indicated the presence of alcohol in the saliva. In cases where the sensory element did not change its color, the result was regarded as negative (lack of alcohol in the blood). If the colors changed only the outer boundaries of the touch part and the color of the center part did not change, the check was repeated. For the semi-quantitative determination of ethyl alcohol in saliva, the colors of the indicator part were compared with the corresponding color scale field. With the help of indicator strips in saliva it is possible to determine the concentration of alcohol in the range from 0.0 % to 0.2 %, which is equal to 0.0 0.0 to 2 %. In determining the alcohol concentration by the color of the indicator there are five colored areas that correspond to the following concentration of ethyl alcohol: yellow color was 0.0 ppm and percent; light green color was in 0.02 % or 0.2 %; light green color was 0.05 % or 0.5 ppm; green was 0,1 % or 1 ppm; dark green was 0.2 % or 2 %. The study on the detection and quantification of ethyl alcohol in the blood and urine was carried out according to the conventional method on gas chromatograph "Chromate-Crystal 5000.2". The average result of the quantitative content of ethanol in the blood ranged from 0.5 % to 1.49 %, which corresponded to a slight degree of alcohol intoxication (relative range did not exceed 5 %). The average result of the quantitative content of ethanol in the urine ranged from 0.5 % to 1.49 %, which corresponded to a slight degree of alcohol intoxication (relative range did not exceed 5 %). Conclusion. In the course of our research, we first demonstrated and introduced the possibility of using test strips as an indicative method for detecting the fact of the presence of ethyl alcohol and determining its quantitative content in the saliva of the deceased and dead from traumas in emergency conditions, conflicts in the absence of necessary conditions and urine (lack of power supply, inability to freeze objects, storage, destruction of objects during transportation, etc.). The compliance with the objectivity and correctness of detection of the presence and quantitative content of ethyl alcohol using indicator test strips was confirmed by blood and urine tests by means of evidence (gas-liquid chromatography).

Keywords: ethyl alcohol, alcohol intoxication, diagnostics, test strips, gas-liquid chromatography, dynamics, trauma, mortality

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