Hydrogen cyanide and carboxyhemoglobin assessment in an open space fire‐related fatality

Abstract

Worldwide, fires constitute one of the main sources of public health problems, causing many deaths and injuries [1,2]. The inhalation of toxic gases that occur during the combustion provokes more fatalities than burns [3,4]. This is because a fire produces a complex toxic environment composed of flame, heat, lack of oxygen, and smoke with a variety of toxic gases. With an increasing variety of synthetic materials in every house, there is an increasing potential for severe health issues due to the inhalation of smoke [1,3,5]. The smoke gas contains carbon

Toxic Blood Hydrogen Cyanide Concentration as a Vital Sign of a Deceased Room Fire Victim—Case Report

“…Analytical and statistical details of the method for determining HCN and thiocyanates (HSCN salts) in the blood were reported in a previous paper [7]. In brief, in order to determine the concentration of HCN and total cyanide compounds (total HCN), 5 mL of femoral blood was collected using a common syringe and placed in a test tube with sodium fluoride as an anticoagulant.…”

“…HCN liberation occurs when nitrogen-containing materials such as polyurethane, polyamide and polyacrylonitrile, wool, or silk are burned. These materials can be found in mattresses, pillows and upholstery, wooden furniture [6], victim's clothes, plastic bottles, and other plastic household waste [5,7]. In addition, lethal concentration of HCN in air can be reached when 2 kg of polyacrylonitrile is combusted in a medium-sized living room [8].…”