Elevation of serum calcium concentration and changes in other blood parameters after death

Determination of calcium and magnesium in postmortem human vitreous humor as a test to ascertain the cause and time of death

“…Blood constituents analyzed postmortem are usually influenced by chemical changes or contaminations, e.g., by hemolysis, postmortem glycogenolysis (Hamilton-Paterson and Johnson 1940; Hill 1941; Hodgkinson and Hambleton 1969). Consequently, the values measured cannot be used to ascertain unsuspected antemortem serum abnormalities.…”

Postmortem Changes in Electrolytes and Adrenal Gland at Different Intervals in Adult Male Rats

“…In contrary to our study, Jetter [14] reported that the plasma calcium concentration was relatively stable from 12-24 h postmortem. Hodgkinson and Hambleton [17] found that plasma calcium concentration increased rapidly within an hour postmortem from 4 mmol/L to reach 9.4 mmol/L after 5 h before decreasing back to antemortem levels by 11 h. Fekete and Brunsdon [18] found a wide range of serum calcium concentrations within 2-36 h postmortem. All of these researchers used different methods to analyze serum calcium concentrations and that may explain why the findings are so variable, indicating that blood calcium levels are not a reliable indicator of PMI.…”

Hypernatraemia and uraemia in unexpected death in infancy

“…A rise in blood urea in 12 cot deaths compared with 47 controls was reported by McGaffey (1970), who suggested that severe metabolic crises were present at the time of death including acidosis, hyponatraemia, uraemia, and raised enzymes. The relevance of these findings is uncertain because plasma chemistry alters rapidly after death (Naumann, 1950;Hodgkinson and Hambleton, 1969) and the length of time after death is not stated. Sturner and Dempsey (1973) have reported analyses of vitreous humour sampled within 24 hours of death in 67 infants dying under the age of 1 year.…”