Use of Troponin I as a Biochemical Marker for Diagnostics of Asphictic State in Mechanical Asphyxia

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the quantitative content of the biochemical marker of myocardial damage (subunits of the troponin complex: Troponin I) in the blood as a diagnostic criterion for asphyxia in mechanical asphyxia. Materials and methods. To determine the presence of asphyxia, the quantitative content of Troponin I in the blood of 12 dead people was studied and analyzed, among which violent death was observed in 7 cases and non-violent – in 5 cases. The study for biochemical detection of Troponin I used a method based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay followed by statistical processing of the results using the MedStat package. Results and discussion. Among the biochemical markers for the diagnosis of asphyxia in hanging and aspiration asphyxia, the most indicative is the determination of the quantitative content of Troponin I in the blood, which is also used in clinical practice to substantiate the diagnosis of cardiac pathology. Therefore, it is important to conduct a differential diagnosis of changes in quantitative indicators of biochemical markers depending on the cause and genesis of death. During the study of the quantitative content of Troponin I in the blood of those who died of mechanical asphyxia (hanging, aspiration asphyxia), it was found that the content of troponin I is from 140 ng/ml to 170 ng/ml. The quantitative content of Troponin I in the blood of those who died of acute and chronic coronary heart disease (control group) is from 10.1 ng/ml to 120 ng/ml. The average value of the quantitative content of Troponin I in two samples was found: in the blood of those who died of mechanical asphyxia – 156 ng/ml±4.4 ng/ml; in the blood of those who died of acute and chronic coronary heart disease – 45.62 ng/ml±22.4 ng/ml. The study revealed a difference in quantitative indicators of biochemical markers depending on the cause and genesis of death, found that the quantitative content of Troponin I in the blood of the dead from mechanical asphyxia (hanging, aspiration asphyxia) compared with the quantitative content of Troponin I in the blood of the dead with chronic coronary heart disease is higher, at the level of significance p=0.008. Conclusion. Thus, in the course of research, the feasibility of using changes in quantitative indicators of the biochemical marker Troponin I to determine the asphyxiation in violent death (mechanical asphyxia) and differential diagnosis in cases of non-violent death (acute and chronic coronary heart disease) was proved, which significantly increases efficiency and reliability of forensic medical examinations