The Diagnostic Value of Quantitative Assessment of Diatom Test for Drowning: An Analysis of 128 Water‐related Death Cases using Microwave Digestion‐Vacuum Filtration‐Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy1. Issue 6 (15th February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhao, Jian; Liu, Chao; Bardeesi, Adham Sameer A.; Wu, Yeda; Ma, Yanbing; Hu, Sunlin; Shi, He; Cheng, Jianding
• Is Part Of: Journal of forensic sciences. Volume 62:Issue 6(2017)
• Page Start: 1638
• Page End: 1642
• Publication Date: 2017-02-15
• Subjects: forensic science -- forensic pathology -- drowning -- diatom test -- quantitative analysis -- positive rate; Medical jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Forensic sciences -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Gerechtelijke geneeskunde; Gerechtelijke chemie; Gerechtelijke psychiatrie; 363.2505
• DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13455
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1198

Abstract

Abstract: The value of diatom test for the diagnosis of drowning remains controversial. The conventional forensic diatom test with low sensitivity is not a useful tool to provide accurate information about diatom in the tissues and organs. To improve the sensitivity of the diatom test, we developed a novel method called the Microwave Digestion‐Vacuum Filtration‐Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy (MD‐VF‐Auto SEM) method which resulted in a high recovery of diatoms. In this article, we analyzed 128 water‐related death cases. Our results showed that the MD‐VF‐Auto SEM method could achieve a much higher positive rate (0.97) in drowning cases. Large amounts of diatoms are retained, even concentrated, in the lung tissues during the intense breathing movement in drowning process. This might be useful for the diagnosis of drowning. Our research indicates that the MD‐VF‐Auto SEM method would be a valuable methodology in the study of diatom test for the forensic community.