Citation

Nikolic S, Zivković V, Dragan B, Juković F. J. Forensic Sci. 2011; 56(1): 128-131.

Affiliation

The Institute of Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01510.x

PMID

20666919

Abstract

The retrospective autopsy study included 98 adults who died because of laryngeal choking on a bolus of food: 67 men and 31 women (chi(2 )=( )6.843, p < 0.01), average age 58.61 +/- 15.87 years (range 26-92 years). Most of the subjects had poor dentition (chi(2 )=( )34.327, p < 0.01). Twenty individuals died in medical institutions, and 78 were nonhospitalized individuals. More than a third of the nonhospitalized individuals were under the influence of ethanol at the moment of death: average blood concentration 8.3 g/dL (SD = 11.0), ranged from 5.0 to 36.0. Nonhospitalized persons were at the moment of event more often under influence of ethanol than the subjects in control group (chi(2 )=( )38.874, p < 0.01), and at the same time significantly more intoxicated (z = -7.126, p < 0.01). Our study pointed out that poor dentition and impairment of the swallowing reflex, as a consequence of ethanol intoxication in individuals without mental disorders, were the most important risk factors for bolus death.

Language: en