A case of suicide by ingestion of caffeine

Intentional or unintentional caffeine abuse due to excessive intake of beverages or energy drinks containing caffeine is relatively frequent. However, death due to caffeine intoxication is rare and case reports of fatalities from caffeine toxicity are relatively infrequent. In this report, we descri...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forensic science, medicine, and pathology medicine, and pathology, 2014-09, Vol.10 (3), p.448-451
Main Authors: Bonsignore, Alessandro, Sblano, Sara, Pozzi, Fulvia, Ventura, Francesco, Dell’Erba, Alessandro, Palmiere, Cristian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Autopsy
Caffeine
Caffeine - blood
Caffeine - poisoning
Case Report
Cause of Death
Central Nervous System Stimulants - blood
Central Nervous System Stimulants - poisoning
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Fatal Outcome
Forensic Medicine
Forensic Toxicology
Humans
Isotonic beverages
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Pathology
Poisoning - blood
Poisoning - pathology
Suicide
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Intentional or unintentional caffeine abuse due to excessive intake of beverages or energy drinks containing caffeine is relatively frequent. However, death due to caffeine intoxication is rare and case reports of fatalities from caffeine toxicity are relatively infrequent. In this report, we describe an autopsy case involving a 31 year-old man who intentionally took a large amount of caffeine tablets in the form of a weight loss supplement as part of a suicide plan. Caffeine femoral blood concentration (170 mg/l) was within the toxic and potentially lethal ranges reported in the literature in similar cases. Postmortem biochemistry results suggested depressed glomerular filtration rate and pre-renal failure at the time of death but failed to reveal myoglobinuria, glycosuria, ketonuria or ketonemia. Based on the absence of pathological findings at autopsy and the high blood caffeine level, death was attributed to acute caffeine toxicity. The case emphasizes the usefulness of performing exhaustive toxicology and searching for all potentially relevant information in order to formulate appropriate hypotheses concerning the cause and manner of death.
ISSN:1547-769X
1556-2891
DOI:10.1007/s12024-014-9571-6