A study of significance of diatoms test in drowning vs non-drowning cases

Background: Drowning is a form of asphyxia due to submersion or immersion in liquid, which are mostly accidental. Death by drowning is difficult to determine and often done by eliminating other causes of death. One of the most important criteria in the study of drowning is the search for a sensitive and specific test. The diatoms are major group of eukaryotic algae and stand as the strongest biological forensic evidence. Aims & Objectives: The study aim to compare the significance of diatoms test in drowning and non drowning cases.Methods: The study carried out in the Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Guntur medical College, Mortuary, Government General Hospital, Guntur during the year January 2017 to December 2017.After selection of the cases during the post-mortem examination the tissues or organs are taken and diatoms test is done as per the procedures in drowning and non drowning cases. The various types of diatoms are studied in detail. The sample of drowned water was also examined for presence of diatoms. A comparison is made for similar types of diatoms to get the significance of diatom test. The relevant water samples in the particular rural locality also are examined and compared in non-drowning cases.Results: In the present study out of 40 cases, 35 are true positive and 5 cases were true negative. We found 20 non drowning cases 18 were true negative and 2 are false negative cases were recorded in our study.Conclusions: Diatom test in drowning is significant even though occasional diatoms may be recovered in lungs and stomach mucosa of non-drowning cases. This diatom test is very valuable in drowning deaths especially in decomposed states as other findings of drowning may be lost or obscured due to decomposition.