Utility of tissue as an alternative specimen to blood for measuring volatile hydrocarbon concentrations in fire-related-deaths.

PURPOSE: Quantitative analysis of volatile hydrocarbons (VHCs) in postmortem blood provides insight into the circumstances of fire-related deaths. Detection of specific VHCs can distinguish construction fires from those involving gasoline or kerosene. Although VHC concentrations have been examined in heart blood, their concentrations in other specimens remain unclear. We evaluated the correlations of carboxyhemoglobin and VHC concentrations among heart blood and femoral vein blood or various organ tissues to investigate the viability of alternative specimens for cases where heart blood cannot be collected. METHODS: Heart blood, femoral vein blood, brain, liver, and muscle samples were collected from victims of fire-related death cases processed at our department. Seventeen VHCs were analyzed using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: In construction fire cases, carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in heart blood were positively correlated with those in femoral vein blood. Benzene, toluene, and styrene are commonly detected in fire-related deaths, and the concentrations of these compounds in heart blood were positively correlated with the corresponding concentrations in femoral vein blood. The concentrations in heart blood were significantly higher than those in femoral vein blood. Tissue concentrations were also positively correlated with those in heart blood. Among the samples, brain tissue had the highest concentrations. In gasoline- and kerosene-related fire cases, the VHC concentration patterns in the brain were similar to those observed in heart blood. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that brain tissue is an appropriate specimen for VHCs analysis and can be used when VHCs are undetectable in heart blood or heart blood is not available.