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ABSTRACTDetermination of carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) is routinely performed in suspected cases of carbon monoxide intoxication and unexplained deaths. However, some authors have suggested that measured HbCO may be falsely elevated in infants (0–12 months) due to the presence of fetal hemoglobin (HbF). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of fetal hemoglobin on the spectrophotometric determination of carboxyhemoglobin. The interference of HbF in the determination of HbCO in infants aged from 0 to 12 months was evaluated using 16 ante-mortem and 19 post-mortem blood samples. The %HbCO was quantified spectrophotometrically by calculating the 560 nm/530 nm absorbance ratio, using a dual-beam spectrophotometer. The average measured HbCO in infants of 3 months of age or under was 17%, which is abnormally elevated. No significant difference in HbCO measurement was found between ante-mortem and post-mortem samples. These results highlight the fact that care must be taken in interpretation of carboxyhemoglobin measurements in infants when using a spectrophotometric method.

ABSTRACTDetermination of carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) is routinely performed in suspected cases of carbon monoxide intoxication and unexplained deaths. However, some authors have suggested that measured HbCO may be falsely elevated in infants (0–12 months) due to the presence of fetal hemoglobin (HbF). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of fetal hemoglobin on the spectro-photometric determination of carboxyhemoglobin. The interference of HbF in the determination of HbCO in infants aged from 0 to 12 months was evaluated using 16 ante-mortem and 19 post-mortem blood samples. The %HbCO was quantified spectrophotometrically by calculating the 560 nm/530 nm absorbance ratio, using a dual-beam spectrophotometer. The average measured HbCO in infants of 3 months of age or under was 17%, which is abnormally elevated. No significant difference in HbCO measurement was found between ante-mortem and post-mortem samples. These results highlight the fact that care must be taken in interpretation of carboxyhemoglobin measurements in infants when using a spectrophotometric method.

The last decade has seen a considerable growth in data generated by scientific instrumentation. Accountability requirements have grown similarly, requiring forensic toxicology laboratories to generate summary of findings to funders, stakeholders and the general public. This work aims to show how the programming language R and its integrated development environment (IDE) RStudio can be harnessed to speed up data analysis and produce summary reports in three different forensic toxicology applications.

AbstractIn 2014, Quebec's forensic science laboratory (Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de medicine légale) is celebrating its 100thanniversary. Since its foundation by Dr. Derome in 1914, scientific techniques in the various areas of forensic science have greatly evolved. Not only was the Laboratory the first forensic science institution in North America, it has been a pioneer for several analytical methods. The early days of the Laboratory as well as the specific evolution of the departments and divisions of biology, chemistry, arson and explosion, questioned documents, forensic pathology, odontology and anthropology, toxicology and administration will be reviewed here.

RésuméEn 2014, le Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médicine légale du Québec célèbre son 100ièmeanniversaire. Depuis sa fondation par Dr Wilfrid Derome en 1914, les techniques scientifiques ont grandement évolué dans les différents domaines des sciences judiciaires. Non seulement le laboratoire fut la première institution de sciences judiciaires en Amérique du Nord, mais plusieurs méthodes analytiques y furent aussi développées. Les débuts du Laboratoire ainsi que l'évolution spécifique des différentes directions et divisions de la biologie, chimie, incendies et explosions, documents, pathologie judiciaire, odontologie et anthropologie, toxicologie et administration seront relatés ici.