New method for postmortem determination of alcohol intake

Abstract

Background.One of the tasks of the forensic medical examination of acute alcohol intoxication on a corpse is to determine the amount of alcohol taken shortly before death. The disadvantage of existing methods for solving this problem is the need to remove fluid by spinal puncture of the corpse and determine the concentration of ethanol in it. This article shows for the first time the possibility of automated post-mortem determination of the amount of alcohol consumed without knowledge of the parameter ethanol concentration in the spinal fluid.Aim.To develop a mathematical model for postmortem determination of ethanol intake, based on objective parameters of ethanol kinetics and not containing the parameter of ethanol concentration in the spinal fluid, to implement the developed model in the format of a computer program.Material and methods.Regression and simulation mathematical modeling of single-dose ethanol kinetics. Writing the text of a computer program in C#.Results.A set of mathematical models has been developed to enable objective post-mortem determination of the amount of ethanol intake without the need for sampling and chemical-toxicological analysis of the spinal fluid. The set of computational procedures is implemented in the format of the computer program Alcohol calculator Z 4.0.Conclusions.The developed method of postmortem determination of ethanol intake and the program Alcohol calculator Z 4.0 created on its basis are recommended for use in the forensic examination of acute alcohol intoxication on a corpse.

Keywords

• ethanol kinetics
• absorption deficit
• maximum concentration of ethanol
• mathematical modeling