Combined analyses of creatine kinase MB, cardiac troponin I and myoglobin in pericardial and cerebrospinal fluids to investigate myocardial and skeletal muscle injury in medicolegal autopsy cases

Creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and myoglobin (Mb) are biochemical markers of myocardial injury; however, Mb is more abundant in skeletal muscles. The present study involved analysis of these markers in pericardial and cerebrospinal fluids (PCF and CSF) from serial medicolegal autopsy cases (n = 295, within 48 h) to examine their efficacy in determining the cause of death. Although these markers showed a slight postmortem time-dependent elevation, except for CK-MB in CSF, the distribution depended on the cause of death. Mb levels in PCF and CSF were higher in fatal hyperthermia (heat stroke) and methamphetamine abuse, and CK-MB in both fluids was also higher in the latter. In psychotropic drug intoxication, CK-MB, cTnI and Mb were higher in PCF, but only cTnI was elevated in CSF. In electrocution and cerebrovascular disease, each marker was higher in PCF and also relatively high in CSF. PCF cTnI level was higher in acute pulmonary embolism without significant elevation of any other markers, whereas CSF CK-MB was higher in acute blunt brain injury death and methamphetamine abuse. In most cases of delayed brain injury death, hypothermia (cold exposure) and pneumonia, these markers were low or intermediate in both PCF and CSF; however, sudden cardiac death, asphyxiation and fire fatality cases showed few characteristic findings. These observations suggest that combined analyses of these markers in postmortem PCF and CSF, in addition to blood samples, are helpful for evaluating the severity of myocardial and/or skeletal muscle damage in death processes, in particular for investigating deaths due to hyperthermia, hypothermia, electrocution and intoxication.