Accidental death by nitrous oxide inhalation

The adverse effects of nitrous oxide

“…20 The practice is called 'nanging', 'a term apparently invented by users to represent the repetitive sound distortions they hear when using N 2 O'. 18 The popularity of nanging may in part be related to N 2 O's apparent ability to enhance sexual fantasies. 21 N 2 O is not bound to blood components such as haemoglobin or albumin, but is highly soluble in plasma -about 30 times more soluble than nitrogen and 20 times more soluble than oxygen.…”

“…17 Inhalation of pure N 2 O through an anaesthetic mask requires hospital equipment and can easily result in asphyxia. 18 The preferred method of abuse is now to inhale N 2 O used in whipped cream dispensers, known as 'Whippits' or 'Whippets', and supplied with small pressurized canisters containing 8-16 g of gas that are readily available. For example, a 37-year-old man inhaled the contents of 50 cream-aerating capsules per day.…”

Utilisations détournées du protoxyde d'azote

“…Le décès peut être rapide par hypoxic En 1971, une revue de la littérature comptabilise un décès unique au cours des vingt dernières années (17). Puis, les cas se multiplient chez les professionnels de santé (18,19). En 1990, Suruda et Glothlin signalent onze décès survenus de 1984 à 1987 suite à des usages abusifs par des professionnels de l'industrie alimentaire (20).…”

Validation of an analytical method for nitrous oxide (N2O) laughing gas by headspace gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HS-GC–MS): Forensic application to a lethal intoxication

“…The limitations of the described methods include generally low sensitivity, high detection limits and the use of internal standards that are not ideal or specific, on a molecular level, for use with N 2 O. A lack of internal standard altogether only allows for external calibration which is not the best approach for gas analysis taking into account the risk of leaks during sampling, extraction and analysis [10,24]. Even if other published GC-MS approach described a better sensitivity, the use of pre-loading airtight gas syringe should prevent any quantification problem due to leaks.…”

“…The inhalation results in oxygen depletion in the body which can lead to lethal intoxication via asphyxiation. Regularly referred to as 'laughing gas', it's increasing abuse has led to hospitalization and deaths described in published case reports after accidental inhalation [1], occupational exposure [2][3][4], post-operative effects [5][6][7][8] and inhalation abuse [9][10][11][12][13]. It is understood that the toxic effects associated with N 2 O are caused by the interaction with vitamin B 12 or the B 12 coenzyme.…”