Abstract: Objective To investigate the serum IgE with various postmortem intervals （PMI） in guinea pigs due to sudden death from anaphylactic shock and to explore the effect of refrigeration of corpse on serum IgE level and its application value in forensic medicine. Methods The animal death models of anaphylactic shock were established. The corpses were preserved at room temperature （20 ℃） for 6 h and then refrigerated at 4 ℃. The serum was sampled at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours after death. The IgE level of serum was detected with ELISA. The control group was also established. Results The serum IgE level had significant difference between the experimental group and the control group （P<0.05）. There was no significant difference among the experimental groups at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours postmortem （P>0.05）. Conclusion If the corpses were placed in 4 ℃ conditions 6 hours after anaphylactic death, the serum IgE still shows a good marker within 48 h for forensic investigation.

Key words: forensic pathology, anaphylaxis, immunoglobulin E, cold-storage, guinea pigs