Postmortem Chemistries Flashcards
What happens to Serum Glucose levels after death?
-Mechanism
Serum Glucose Increases after death
-Postmortem Hepatic Glycogenolysis
*Dx of DM should not be made on the basis of postmortem blood glucose alone
What is the preferred sample for postmortem diagnosis of DKA?
-What are the findings?
Vitreous Fluid
-High glucose and Ketones
What happens to Vitreous Glucose levels after death?
-Mechanism
Vitreous Glucose Decreases after death
-Glycolysis
What happens to BUN and Creatinine after death?
Both Remain Stable
What findings are useful to diagnose dehydration (PostMortem)?
High BUN w/ Hypernatremia
What happens to Serum Sodium levels after death?
Serum Sodium Decreases immediately after death
-rate of 0.9 mEq/L/Hr
What happens to Serum Chloride levels after death?
Serum Chloride Decreases immediately after death
-rate of 0.9 mEq/L/Hr
What happens to Vitreous Chloride levels after death?
Very Stable
What happens to Vitreous Sodium levels after death?
Very Stable
What happens to Serum Potassium after death?
-CSF
Serum and CSF Potassium Rise Abruptly after death
What happens to Vitreous Potassium after death?
Vitreous Potassium Rises gradually (linearly) after death
What happens to Serum Tryptase after death?
Remains stable after death for several days
What finding may support a postmortem diagnosis of Anaphylaxis?
Elevated Serum Tryptase (low specificity)
-Normal has high Negative Predictive Value
Postmortem Chemistry Patterns - Dehydration:
- Sodium
- Chloride
- Potassium
- BUN
- Creatinine
Dehydration:
- Sodium - High
- Chloride - High
- Potassium - wnl
- BUN - High
- Creatinine - High
Postmortem Chemistry Patterns - Uremia:
- Sodium
- Chloride
- Potassium
- BUN
- Creatinine
Uremia:
- Sodium - wnl
- Chloride - wnl
- Potassium - wnl
- BUN - High
- Creatinine - High
