Post-mortem alcohol analysis in synovial fluid: an alternative method for estimation of blood alcohol level in medico-legal autopsies?

To evaluate the effectiveness of synovial fluid alcohol concentration in prediction of blood alcohol concentration, synovial fluid and blood was studied of 50 autopsy cases and the alcohol levels determined by using Head Space Gas Chromatography method. To exclude the effect of decomposition on alcohol levels, corpses with post-mortem intervals less than 24 hours and not showing signs of decomposition were selected. Of 50 cases, alcohol was detected in 15 cases both in blood and in synovial fluid.