Drowning: still a difficult autopsy diagnosis

Abstract

Investigation of bodies recovered out of water comprises an important proportion of the medico-legal requests. However, the key question whether the victim died due to "true" drowning can frequently not easily be solved. In addition, the diagnosis of hydrocution is even more difficult. In this manuscript, a review of reported diagnostic methods is discussed in order to provide guidelines, which can be used in current forensic practice. In particular, the (dis)advantages of various biological and thanato-chemical methods, described in literature during the last 20 years, will be confronted with the classical techniques such as the detection of diatoms and algae. Indeed, the diatom test is still considered as the "golden standard". In conclusion, the ideal diagnostic test as definite proof for drowning still needs to be established. At present, the combination of the autopsy findings and the diatom test is a good compromise in arriving at a conclusion. Additional biochemical and technical methods could be useful. Unfortunately, the cost-benefit analysis in current practice could be hard to defend. However, the importance of this subject asks for further scientific approaches and research.