DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i02.048

Pages: 717-720

Presently, forensic pathologists all over the world are divided over reliability of diatom test as a diagnostic aid. The aim of the present study was to test the reliability of diatom test as indicator of antemortem drowning by comparing the presence of diatoms in dead bodies found in water, in cases where suspected cause was drowning with those cases where another cause of death was established. Specimens were preserved for diatom test at the time of postmortem examination. These specimens were subjected to acid digestion for extraction of bone marrow to conduct diatom test. Water sample was collected from the site of recovery of the bodies. The specimens were subjected to diatom test for detection of diatoms and comparison of types of diatoms found in water & bone sample respectively. Amongst the 41 cases, 28 cases showed positive results and 13 cases showed negative results for diatom tests. Seasonal distribution pattern of cases showed that the diatom positive cases were more in the rainy (13) & summer season (8) as compared to spring (4) and winter (3). The gender distribution clearly deviated towards males with 40 males & 10 females. In 11 cases where other cause of death except drowning was established at the postmortem examination, diatom test were negative in all the cases. In cases where other findings of drowning are lost to decomposition, detection of identical diatoms in body and putative drowning medium should be considered as corner stone for establishing ante-mortem drowning.