Drunk or just putrefied?

Background Several pitfalls arise in the assessment of postmortem blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate in a controlled and systematic manner in a porcine model whether a postmortem congener pattern can provide evidence for antemortem or postmortem ethanol neogenesis. Methods Ethanol was administered intravenously to six pigs, whereas six control pigs remained sober. The animals were euthanized 1h after the start of administration, and peripheral and heart blood (HB) as well as muscle tissue were collected. The animals were stored at room temperature and the aforementioned range of samples was collected daily for 3 days. Samples were analyzed for ethanol and congener substances by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results Over the course of storage, ethanol formation was observed in the sober pigs, resulting in a median BAC of 0.24 g/kg body weight. The BAC in the pigs with alcohol remained comparatively stable. In addition, a distinct increase in n‑propanol, n‑butanol, and acetaldehyde was observed. The median blood concentration of n‑propanol in sober animals was higher after storage than that of pigs with alcohol, but no significant differences could be substantiated between the two groups ( p > 0.05). Acetaldehyde and n‑butanol concentrations in HB of the sober pigs increased to the level of the pigs with alcohol at death after 3 days. Until the end of the experiment (3 days postmortem), no significant differences in concentrations were detected. Concentrations in muscle tissue did not increase to the same extent. Discussion In the present study, no marker could be identified that could reliably discriminate antemortem ethanol ingestion from postmortem genesis.