Suicidal Death by Nicotine Poisoning

Young Jin Jun; Hyoungjoong Kim; Sohyung Park

doi:10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.4.167

Journal List > Korean J Leg Med > v.38(4) > 1087951

Go to TopGo to Top Go to BottomGo to Bottom

TOOLS

Jun, Kim, and Park: Suicidal Death by Nicotine Poisoning

Case Report

Korean J Leg Med 2014;38(4):167-170.

Published online: 4 February 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.4.167

Suicidal Death by Nicotine Poisoning

Young Jin Jun¹, Hyoungjoong Kim², Sohyung Park^3,

¹Department of Pathology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

²Forensic Medicine, Seoul Clinic of Korea Forensic Investigation, Seoul, Korea

³Medical Examiner's Office, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea

Corresponding Author Sohyung Park Medical Examiner's Office, National Forensic Service, 10 Ipchun-ro, Wonju 220-170, Korea TEL: +82-2-2600-4816 FAX: +82-2-2600-4829 E-mail: zzeva@korea.kr

Received 11 October 2014 Revised 28 October 2014 Accepted 6 November 2014

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Nicotine is a water-soluble alkaloid extracted from tobacco plants, and most frequently encountered in snuff, chewing tobacco, cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco or in a limited number of pesticides. Nicotine overdose or poisoning might be serious or fatal and lead to death; caused by cardiovascular arrest, respiratory muscle paralysis, and/or central respiratory failure due to its toxic effect. Suicide by nicotine ingestion has been rarely reported due to emetic response. We present a case of suicidal nicotine poisoning. A 56-year-old man was found dead and the postmortem examination revealed no injury or disease. We confirmed a high concentration of nicotine in the toxicological test. Through scene investigation, we determined this case as a suicidal nicotine poisoning.

Keywords: Nicotine, Suicide, Poisoning

References

1. Corkery JM, Button J, Vento AE, et al. Two UK suicides using nicotine extracted from tobacco employing instructions available on the Internet. Forensic Sci Int. 2010; 199:e9–13.

2. Solarino B, Rosenbaum F, Riesselmann B, et al. Death due to ingestion of nicotine-containing solution: case report and review of the literature. Forensic Sci Int. 2010; 195:e19–22.

3. Cervellin G, Luci M, Bellini C, et al. Bad news about an old poison: a case of nicotine poisoning due to both ingestion and injection of the content of an electronic cigarette refill. Emerg Care J. 2013; 9:e18.

4. Eberlein CK, Frieling H, Kohnlein T, et al. Suicide attempt by poisoning using nicotine liquid for use in electronic cigarettes. Am J Psychiatry. 2014; 171:891.

5. Fukumoto M. Nicotine and cotinine. In: Suzuki O, Watanabe K, eds. Drugs and poisons in humans: a handbook of practical analysis. Berlin: Springer Verlag;2005. p. 499–508.

6. Lardi C, Vogt S, Pollak S, et al. Complex suicide with homemade nicotine patches. Forensic Sci Int. 2014; 236:e14–8.

7. Benowitz NL. Clinical pharmacology of nicotine: implications for understanding, preventing, and treating tobacco addiction. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2008; 83:531–41.

8. Dettmeyer R. Forensic histopathology: fundamentals and perspectives. Berlin: Springer;2011. p. 128.

9. Chowdhury P, Hosotani R, Chang L, et al. Metabolic and pathologic effects of nicotine on gastrointestinal tract and pancreas of rats. Pancreas. 1990; 5:222–9.

10. Schneider S, Diederich N, Appenzeller B, et al. Internet suicide guidelines: report of a life-threatening poisoning using tobacco extract. J Emerg Med. 2010; 38:610–3.

Fig. 1.

Gastric contents shows semi-digested food material mixed with brownish fluid.

Fig. 2.

The esophageal mucosa showed mild coagulation necrosis, and pinkish mucosal change is also observed over the entire gastric mucosa.

TOOLS

Similar articles