Kohlenmonoxidintoxikation in suizidaler Absicht durch ein Gemisch aus Schwefelsäure und Ameisensäure

Santamaria, Mario; Erker, Christian G.; Wilp, M.; Böhn, Andreas; Möllmann, Michael

doi:10.1007/s10049-013-1724-8

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Since Dr. Nitschke's CO generator first gained media attention in 2003, eight cases of suicides and attempted suicides have been described in the literature; all carried out by males between the ages of 21 and 31 (7,(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Our case is an outlier in this respect as the decedent was 44 years old.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The seven cases in the United States include previous case reports, our present case, a second case investigated by our facility the following year, and two fatal incidents described in public news sources (22,23), one of which has been corroborated by autopsy report (Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, personal communication, July 30, 2018). Of these 13 cases, two individuals attempting suicide survived with COHb levels recorded at 20.8% (16) and 36.8% (21) upon arrival at the hospital. The CO generators used in each case varied greatly in design and complexity, with one even incorporating a timer so that the formic and sulfuric acids would mix while the subject was asleep (19).…”

Section: Case Of the Monthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suicidal Carbon Monoxide Poisoning by Formic and Sulfuric Acids

Kreutz¹,

Danielsen²,

Quinton³

2019

Academic Forensic Pathology

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In 1987, a case report was published in the German journal Archiv für Kriminologie describing an apparently novel method of suicide in which the decedent produced a lethal amount of carbon monoxide by mixing formic acid and sulfuric acid. This method of chemical suicide remained obscure until 2003, when Dr. Philip Nitschke, a vocal supporter of assisted suicide, began promoting a homemade carbon monoxide generator which utilized this same chemical reaction. In 2006, he coauthored The Peaceful Pill Handbook, which provided further details about how the device worked. Pro-voluntary euthanasia organizations and online forums continue to provide information about this method, promoting it as painless and efficient. There have been nine case reports of suicides and attempted suicides using this chemical reaction, with five reported in Europe, three in the United States, and one in Taiwan. Two additional cases were reported in news articles that did not correspond to known case reports, indicating that this method of suicide is more common than the scientific literature would suggest. We present the case of a 44-year-old male who learned about this method of chemical suicide online and filmed the suicidal act while verbally recording carbon monoxide levels prior to losing consciousness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Case Of the Monthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicidal Carbon Monoxide Poisoning by Formic and Sulfuric Acids

Kreutz¹,

Danielsen²,

Quinton³

2019

Academic Forensic Pathology

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“…One such method involves combining formic acid with sulfuric acid, which produces CO. 1 A total of 11 such reported cases were found in the literature, one of which was an outdoor occupational exposure. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] All the other cases were acts of suicide in enclosed surroundings including home spaces and, in one particular case, inside a car. We report a patient who generated CO from a sulfuric and formic acid mixture in her car in an attempt to commit suicide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Unusual Case of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Formic and Sulfuric Acid Mixture

Ershad

Melisiotis

Gaskill

et al. 2019

Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine

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Formic acid, when combined with sulfuric acid, gets dehydrated to form carbon monoxide (CO). A 27-year-old female was found unconscious inside a car, next to a container with a mixture of sulfuric acid and formic acid. Concentrations of up to 400 parts per million of CO were measured inside the car post ventilation. Serum carboxyhemoglobin level was 15% after receiving 100% oxygen for two hours. The patient received hyperbaric oxygen therapy after which she was extubated with normal mental status. On follow-up after three months, she demonstrated neurocognitive abnormalities suggestive of delayed neurological sequelae from CO exposure.

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