Lethal cyanide inhalation with post-mortem trans-cutaneous cyanide diffusion

A 27-year-old worker in a metal processing factory was found dead in a basin, sitting in a solution containing potassium dicyano argentate, potassium cyanide, master batch and brightener ’Elfit 73’. The worker was wearing an acid-resisting overall, rubber boots and a simple dust respirator. While th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) Japan), 2003-12, Vol.5 (4), p.238-241
Main Authors: Seidl, Stephan, Schwarze, Bernd, Betz, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Autopsy
Cyanide
Death
Diffusion
Fatal Outcome
Humans
Industrial accident
Inhalation Exposure - adverse effects
Male
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Postmortem Changes
Postmortem distribution
Potassium Cyanide - blood
Potassium Cyanide - poisoning
Prussic acid
Trans-cutaneous diffusion
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Summary:A 27-year-old worker in a metal processing factory was found dead in a basin, sitting in a solution containing potassium dicyano argentate, potassium cyanide, master batch and brightener ’Elfit 73’. The worker was wearing an acid-resisting overall, rubber boots and a simple dust respirator. While the cyanide concentration in the stomach contents was only 0.05 μg/ml, it was 7.7 μg/g in the lung tissue, 6.3 μg/ml in the heart blood and 31 μg/ml in the femoral vein blood. The different concentrations suggest an initial lethal inhalation of cyanide and an extensive post-mortem diffusion of cyanide through primarily non-injured skin of buttocks and legs. The possibility of a post-mortem cyanide diffusion bars from concluding a vital sign from a high cyanide concentration in a blood sample of one single body site.
ISSN:1344-6223
1873-4162
DOI:10.1016/S1344-6223(03)00078-6