TY - JOUR
TI - Suicidal helium inhalation – case report
AU - Cywka, Tomasz
TI - Suicidal helium inhalation – case report
AB - A significant increase in the number of suicides with the use of helium has been observed in recent years. Deaths with its use are quick and are not accompanied by a feeling of breathlessness. This paper presents the results of a post-mortem examination of a woman who committed suicide by inhaling helium. Conventional postmortem examination did not reveal any post-traumatic changes, while a computed tomography (CT) scans showed the presence of a large amount of gas in the veins and arteries of the whole body and in the heart chambers. In the assessment of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) images, changes resulting from putrefaction were also taken into account. The results of the diagnostics carried out confirm the results of previous reports, which indicated that inhalation of large amounts of helium leads to death not only (as previously thought) in the oxygen displacement mechanism, but also through the formation of gas embolisms.
VL - 2021
IS - Vol. 71 (3-4)
PY - 2022
SN - 0324-8267
C1 - 1689-1716
SP - 87
EP - 94
DO - 10.4467/16891716AMSIK.21.005.15615
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/amsik/article/samobojstwo-przy-uzyciu-helu-opis-przypadku
KW - suicide
KW - inert gases
KW - helium
KW - anoxemia
KW - gas embolism
KW - postmortem computed tomography