What Happens to Ethanol Levels During Medium and Long-Term Storage of Blood Specimens?

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The standardization of processing methods and storage duration for ethanol analysis is important for the forensic sciences and toxicology. This retrospective study was conducted to investigate ethanol stability in serum specimens stored at 4°C for distinct periods. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was carried out by using blood specimens from 183 patients in whom ethanol measurement was ordered due to trauma and forensic causes. Seven study groups were created (ranging from 1 to 36 months). The same tubes were re-analyzed for blood ethanol concentration and the results were compared to the first measurements. RESULTS: It was recorded that the stability was 3 years around for non-preservative blood ethanol specimens at +4oC. There was a 4.1% decrease in the first month. Then, an elevation trend for ethanol concentration was observed from month 5 to 26 and ethanol concentration was stabilized thereafter for month 26 and 36: 7.4% and 7.4% respectively. No ethanol increase was observed for negative specimens in medium- and long-term storage groups. Ethanol specimens with lower concentration exhibited relatively lower reduction. No significant association was shown between blood ethanol concentration and Glasgow Coma Scale Scores (GCSS) and/or Injury Severity Score (ISS) (P

Orta ve Uzun Süreli Saklanan Kan Örneklerinde Etanol Düzeyleri Nasıl Etkileniyor?

ÖZ GİRİŞ VE AMAÇ: Etanol analizinde işleme yöntemleri ve depolama sürelerinin standardizasyonu adli ve toksikolojik disiplin için önemlidir. Bu geriye dönük çalışma, farklı depolama süreleri için +40C'de saklandıktan sonra serum örneklerinde etanol davranışını araştırmak için yürütülmüştür. GEREÇ VE YÖNTEMLER: Travma ve adli nedenlerle etanolün ölçülmesi gereken 183 olgudaki kan örnekleri kullanıldı. Yedi çalışma grubu oluşturuldu (1 ile 36 ay arasında değişen). Aynı tüpler yeniden analiz edildi ve sonuçlar ilk ölçümlerle karşılaştırıldı. BULGULAR: Koruyucu kullanılmayan kan etanol numuneleri +40C 'de saklandığında 3 yıl civarında stabil olarak kalabildiği kaydedilmiştir. İlk ayda% 4.1 oranında düşüş olmuştur. Ardından, etanol konsantrasyonları için 5 aylık dönemden itibaren 26 aya yükseliş eğilimi başlamış ve daha sonra durağan sürece girilmiştir (26 ve 36 ay, %7.4 ve % 7.4). Negatif numuneler için orta ve uzun vadeli süreli gruplarda etanol üretimi gözlenmemiştir. Düşük konsantrasyonlu etanol numuneleri nispeten daha fazla azalma göstermiştir. Kan etanol konsantrasyonları yaralanma ciddiyet puanlaması (YCP) ve Glasgow Koma Ölçeği Puanları (GKÖP) ile anlamlı bir şekilde ilişkili değildi (P

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