Fatal accidental enflurane intoxication.
Among reported cases of abuse of volatile anesthetics there is only one of enflurane intoxication. We report another fatal enflurane intoxication. A 21-year-old man found dead seemed to have experimented with enflurane. Three and one-half days after death high amounts of enflurane were detected in blood, brain, and subcutaneous fat. Gas chromatographic quantification revealed the following high enflurane concentrations: blood: 130 mg/l-1, brain: 350 mg/l-1, and subcutaneous fat: 100 mg/l-1. Histologic signs of drug-induced damage were lacking. No suicide intentions became known. It was concluded that the young man died of an accidental intoxication while abusing enflurane.
Jacob
B
B
Department of Forensic Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, West Germany.
Heller
C
C
Daldrup
T
T
Bürrig
K F
KF
Barz
J
J
Bonte
W
W
D000328:Adult; D004737:Enflurane / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
D004737:Enflurane