Death from Nitrous Oxide
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[1] University Hospital of Umeå
University Hospital of Umeå
Suecia
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[2] Umeå University
Umeå University
Suecia
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[3] National Board of Forensic Medicine Department of Forensic Medicine PO Box 7616, SE‐907 12 Umeå Sweden
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- Localización: Journal of forensic sciences, ISSN-e 1556-4029, ISSN 0022-1198, Vol. 60, Nº. 6, 2015, págs. 1662-1665
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
Nitrous oxide is an inflammable gas that gives no smell or taste. It has a history of abuse as long as its clinical use, and deaths, although rare, have been reported. We describe two cases of accidental deaths related to voluntary inhalation of nitrous oxide, both found dead with a gas mask covering the face. In an attempt to find an explanation to why the victims did not react properly to oncoming hypoxia, we performed experiments where a test person was allowed to breath in a closed system, with or without nitrous oxide added. Vital signs and gas concentrations as well as subjective symptoms were recorded. The experiments indicated that the explanation to the fact that neither of the descendents had reacted to oncoming hypoxia and hypercapnia was due to the inhalation of nitrous oxide. This study raises the question whether nitrous oxide really should be easily, commercially available
