Citation

Romolo FS, di Luca NM, Ciallella C, Bottoni E, Fiore PA, Cappelletti S, Giuliani N, Augsburger M, Varlet V. J. Forensic Leg. Med. 2017; 52: 35-39.

Affiliation

Forensic Toxicology and Chemistry Unit, University Center of Legal Medicine Lausanne - Geneva, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jflm.2017.08.005

PMID

28850861

Abstract

Death due to inhalation of aliphatic hydrocarbons such as butane and propane is a particularly serious problem worldwide, resulting in several fatal cases of sniffing these volatile substances in order to "get high". Despite the number of cases published, there is not a unique approach to case management of fatal sniffing. In this paper we illustrate the volatile lipophilic substances management in a case of a prisoner died after sniffing a butane-propane gas mixture from prefilled camping stove gas canisters, discussing the comprehensive approach of the crime scene, the autopsy, histology and toxicology. A large set of accurate values of both butane and propane was obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyzing the following post-mortem biological samples: peripheral blood, heart blood, vitreous humor, liver, lung, heart, brain/cerebral cortex, fat tissue, kidney, and allowed an in depth discussion about the cause of death. A key role is played by following the proper sampling approach during autopsy.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Butane-propane poisoning; Cardiac arrhythmia; Forensic toxicology; Sudden sniffing death syndrome; Volatile substance abuse