Citation

Zhu BL, Ishida K, Quan L, Li DR, Taniguchi M, Fujita MQ, Maeda H, Tsuji T. Leg. Med. (Elsevier) 2002; 4(1): 1-6.

Affiliation

Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Abeno, Japan. baolizhu@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Japanese Society of Legal Medicine, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12935684

Abstract

To evaluate the immunohistochemical distribution and serum levels of a pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) in fatal drowning with regard to the pulmonary alveolar injury, 53 autopsy cases were investigated. SP-A was membranously or linearly demonstrated in varying intensities on the intra-alveolar interior surface and on the interface of the intra-alveolar effusion. A high score of intra-alveolar aggregates of SP-A was significantly more frequently observed in freshwater than saltwater drowning. The left/right ratios of cardiac blood SP-A level were significantly high both in fresh- and saltwater drowning, showing no relationship to aggregated SP-A scores. Immunohistochemical score and serum level of SP-A were independent of the lung weight or pleural effusion. These observations suggest a partial difference of pulmonary pathophysiology depending on the immersion medium in fatal drowning.

Language: en