TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Sudden death due to butane abuse - an overview
JO  - Journal of forensic and legal medicine
A1  - Piersanti, Valeria
A1  - Napoletano, Gabriele
A1  - David, Maria Chiara
A1  - Umani Ronchi, Federica
A1  - Marinelli, Enrico
A1  - De Paola, Lina
A1  - Zaami, Simona
SP  - e102662
EP  - e102662
VL  - 103
IS  - 
N2  - Volatile Solvents Abuse (VSA) poses major health risks, especially for young people and those living in precarious socio-economic conditions. Such substances can in fact bring about psychoactive effects such as euphoria, and even lead to sudden death from cardiac arrhythmias, respiratory depression, myocardial infarction, laryngospasm, encephalopathy, and rhabdomyolysis. The present case report is centered around a 23-year-old man who died in prison due to inhalation of a cooker gas mixture (n-butane, propane, and isobutane) inside a plastic bag. External examination and autopsy showed non-specific signs of asphyxia associated with edema and brain swelling. Histological signs of early myocardial damage and hypoxic-ischemic injury (HII) were highlighted in the brain and cerebellum, as well as activated macrophages and anthracotic-like material in the lungs. Toxicological investigations revealed the presence of propane, isobutane and n-butane in liquids and biological samples. Besides the cardiotoxic effect, there was an asphyctic component due to the plastic bag that may have facilitated death. The assessment of cerebral HII and cardiopulmonary damage in acute cases is very important to prove death by butane inhalation. In the forensic field, it may be useful to shed more light on intoxications, deaths, and butane encephalopathies, as the latter can be mistaken for a hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1752-928X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2024.102662
ID  - ref1
ER  -