Volatile lipophilic substances management in case of fatal sniffing

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 manag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forensic and legal medicine 2017-11, Vol.52, p.35-39
Main Authors: Romolo, Francesco Saverio, di Luca, Natale Mario, Ciallella, Costantino, Bottoni, Edoardo, Fiore, Paola Antonella, Cappelletti, Simone, Giuliani, Nicole, Augsburger, Marc, Varlet, Vincent
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue - chemistry
Adipose Tissue - pathology
Adult
Blood Chemical Analysis
Brain Chemistry
Butane-propane poisoning
Butanes - analysis
Butanes - poisoning
Cardiac arrhythmia
Forensic Pathology
Forensic Toxicology
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Humans
Inhalant Abuse
Kidney - chemistry
Kidney - pathology
Liver - chemistry
Liver - pathology
Lung - chemistry
Lung - pathology
Male
Myocardium - chemistry
Myocardium - pathology
Propane - analysis
Propane - poisoning
Purpura - pathology
Respiratory Mucosa - pathology
Sudden sniffing death syndrome
Vitreous Body - chemistry
Vitreous Body - pathology
Volatile substance abuse
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Summary: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. •Volatile lipophilic alkanes management after sniffing of camping stove gas canisters is presented.•A large set of biological samples (blood, liver, lung, heart, brain, fat tissue, kidney) is analysed.•Canisters should be always analysed in fatal sniffing case.
ISSN:1752-928X
1878-7487
DOI:10.1016/j.jflm.2017.08.005