If you autopsy someone, is antifreeze detectable cause of death?

[Minerva]

It's a comment from here:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...n-charged-in-antifreeze-poisoning-deaths?lite

Crazy bitches!

 

[Anubis]

yes it is

 

[JulesMaximus]

Ask Dari... he might know the answer to this question.

 

[Eug]

Antifreeze's main component is usually ethylene glycol, and this can be detected in the blood. However, you'd have to think of antifreeze poisoning in the first place to think to do the test. If someone shows up in emerg with non-specific symptoms, you're not gonna think "Oh it must be antifreeze poisoning", unless it was some kid with an open bottle beside him.

Yeah, crazy, but if she had just stuck with one murder, she might have gotten away with it.

 

[Minerva]

Dexcool looks a lot like orange crush but I ain't licking the bottle top! :biggrin:

 

[Eug]

P.S. You can treat antifreeze poisoning with booze. It's the metabolites of ethylene glycol that are truly poisonous, but ethanol competes for the enzyme that converts ethylene glycol to its metabolites. If there's a lot of booze in the blood, then the conversion of ethylene glycol slows right down.

 

[chimaxi83]

Ask Dari... he might know the answer to this question.

Maybe OP is the "friend" who needed to know how to sneak a lady some abortion meds. :sneaky:

 

[disappoint]

lol@ the gun debate going on in the comments:

JBW-328113I say that Congress and the President should consider pushing for stricter anti-freeze control legislation.
A ten day waiting period and a background check might to the trick.

 

[blackdogdeek]

P.S. You can treat antifreeze poisoning with booze. It's the metabolites of ethylene glycol that are truly poisonous, but ethanol competes for the enzyme that converts ethylene glycol to its metabolites. If there's a lot of booze in the blood, then the conversion of ethylene glycol slows right down.

The lesson here is to be drunk 24/7. Who am I to disagree?

 

[Eug]

^ Only if your spouse is batshit crazy.

 

[xBiffx]

Would show up in any autopsy toxicology screen. Don't even have to be looking for it. pH would be way off ass well as low levels of calcium and potentially increased potassium.

Granted the signs don't point right to ethylene glycol but a tox screen would definitely let you know something is up.

 

[Iron Woode]

it shows up in the brain as crystals.

be aware that there can be false positives for anti-freeze poisoning.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Yeah, crazy, but if she had just stuck with one murder, she might have gotten away with it.

She would have gotten away with two! It was the third attempt where she got caught, and prompted reopening the previous cases.

 

[Brigandier]

Ask Dari... he might know the answer to this question.

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