Lung-heart weight ratio as a possible index of cardiopulmonary pathophysiology in drowning

The aim of the present study was to investigate the lung-heart weight ratio in fresh- and saltwater drowning (n = 67 and n = 75, respectively) as a possible index of cardiopulmonary pathophysiology, in comparison with acute myocardial infarction/ischemia (AMI, n = 75) and asphyxiation (n = 85). In drowning cases, the total value of the combined lung weight and the amount of pleural effusion was regarded as a possible total lung weight. The median value of the combined/total lung weight was the highest in saltwater drowning, which was followed by freshwater drowning, AMI and asphyxiation, showing a tendency to be midly increased depending on the heart weight. The lung-heart weight ratio was significantly higher in fresh-/saltwater drownings (3.944 ± 1.538 and 4.825 ± 2.242, respectively) than in asphyxiation (2.846 ± 1.042) and AMI (2.641 ± 0.916) (P < 0.0001), showing a tendency to be higher in saltwater than freshwater drowning. However, the value depended on the gender and age of the subjects, and the difference between freshwater drowning and asphyxiation was insignificant in females. These results suggested that the lung-heart weight ratio may be an index for investigating the influence of aspirated immersion medium in drownings.