Precision of the Abaxis VetScan VS2 for Postmortem Biochemical Analysis of Delphinid Vitreous Humor

Overview

Journal Mar Mamm Sci

Date 2025 Feb 3

PMID 39898359

Authors

Tiffany Zorotrian

Adam W Stern

Hanzhi Gao

Alexander Costidis

Christine Fontaine

Alissa Deming

Craig Harms

Hayley R Adams

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Biochemical analysis of vitreous humor has several forensic applications, including toxicology, estimation of the postmortem interval, and as proxy for select antemortem serum analytes. Estimation of postmortem interval from vitreous humor analytes such as potassium has potential to be a valuable forensic tool for marine mammal strandings, as time of death is essential to provide spatial and temporal context for anthropogenic interactions. The Abaxis VetScan VS2 (VetScan) chemistry analyzer is inexpensive, compact, and requires low sample volume (100 μl), making it ideal for organizations with limited resources and limited samples. This pilot study compared accuracy of the Vetscan on delphinid serum/plasma ( = 7) to the Beckman Coulter AU480, validated the precision of the Vetscan for biochemical analysis of delphinid vitreous humor using the described sample processing protocol, and assessed analyte stability at room temperature in delphinid vitreous humor. Pooled samples ( = 12) of delphinid vitreous humor were serially analyzed and the between-run and within-run coefficient of variation of the VetScan was acceptable for most analytes tested but was not for creatinine, total bilirubin, amylase, and alanine aminotransferase. These results demonstrated the precision of the VetScan for the analysis of glucose, albumin, globulin, total protein, urea nitrogen, sodium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus in delphinid vitreous humor.

References

Schwacke L, Hall A, Townsend F, Wells R, Hansen L, Hohn A . Hematologic and serum biochemical reference intervals for free-ranging common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and variation in the distributions of clinicopathologic values related to geographic sampling site. Am J Vet Res. 2009; 70(8):973-85. DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.70.8.973. View

Farr A, Freeman K . Quality control validation, application of sigma metrics, and performance comparison between two biochemistry analyzers in a commercial veterinary laboratory. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2008; 20(5):536-44. DOI: 10.1177/104063870802000502. View

Thierauf A, Musshoff F, Madea B . Post-mortem biochemical investigations of vitreous humor. Forensic Sci Int. 2009; 192(1-3):78-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.08.001. View

Srikantha N, Teijeiro-Gonzalez Y, Simpson A, Elsaid N, Somavarapu S, Suhling K . Determining vitreous viscosity using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. PLoS One. 2022; 17(2):e0261925. PMC: 8830689. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261925. View

Belsey S, Flanagan R . Postmortem biochemistry: Current applications. J Forensic Leg Med. 2016; 41:49-57. DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2016.04.011. View

Pigaiani N, Bertaso A, De Palo E, Bortolotti F, Tagliaro F . Vitreous humor endogenous compounds analysis for post-mortem forensic investigation. Forensic Sci Int. 2020; 310:110235. DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110235. View

McNeil A, Gardner A, Stables S . Simple method for improving the precision of electrolyte measurements in vitreous humor. Clin Chem. 1999; 45(1):135-6. View

Zilg B, Bernard S, Alkass K, Berg S, Druid H . A new model for the estimation of time of death from vitreous potassium levels corrected for age and temperature. Forensic Sci Int. 2015; 254:158-66. DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.07.020. View

. Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) standard practices for method validation in forensic toxicology. J Anal Toxicol. 2013; 37(7):452-74. DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkt054. View

10.

McLaughlin B, McLaughlin P . Equine vitreous humor chemical concentrations: correlation with serum concentrations, and postmortem changes with time and temperature. Can J Vet Res. 1988; 52(4):476-80. PMC: 1255494. View

11.

Varela R, Bossart G . Evaluation of biochemical analytes in vitreous humor collected after death in West Indian manatees. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2005; 226(1):88-92. DOI: 10.2460/javma.2005.226.88. View

12.

Hanna P, Bellamy J, Donald A . Postmortem eyefluid analysis in dogs, cats and cattle as an estimate of antemortem serum chemistry profiles. Can J Vet Res. 1990; 54(4):487-94. PMC: 1255698. View

13.

Deming A, Wingers N, Moore D, Rotstein D, Wells R, Ewing R . Health Impacts and Recovery From Prolonged Freshwater Exposure in a Common Bottlenose Dolphin (). Front Vet Sci. 2020; 7:235. PMC: 7220998. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00235. View

14.

Monzon L, Pearring S, Miller C, Vargas J . Validation of the i-STAT®1 Analyzer for Postmortem Vitreous Humor Electrolytes and Glucose Analysis. J Anal Toxicol. 2017; 42(2):133-138. DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkx084. View

15.

Greenacre C, Flatland B, Souza M, Fry M . Comparison of avian biochemical test results with Abaxis VetScan and Hitachi 911 analyzers. J Avian Med Surg. 2009; 22(4):291-9. DOI: 10.1647/2007-034.1. View

16.

Stern A, Muralidhar M . Postmortem Vitreous Humor Analysis in Dogs, Cats and Horses. J Anal Toxicol. 2020; 46(1):103-107. DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkaa175. View