Abstract
Cervical and cardiac blood samples aseptically taken at different time (within 20 hours after death) from 79 cadavers were microbiologically studied and the results were correlated together with the antemortem blood cultures and antibiotic therapies. In 65 cases (82 per cent), the results of both samples were well correlated with each other regardless of the postmortem time lapse and disease. Further analysis indicates that the culture results of cardiac blood drawn from the additional 10 cadavers (13 per cent) at aseptic autopsy were well correlated with the antemortem microbiological data and culture results of other tissues taken at the same autopsies. This study indicates, therefore, that the time lapse (up to 20 hours after death) does not significantly affect the sterility of the blood specimens.
