title: Fatal accidental ingestion of carbon tetrachloride: a postmortem distribution study.
abstract: This paper reports a fatality involving a 75-year-old white male, who ingested an unknown quantity of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)--a toxic agent able to induce central nervous system depression and severe renal and hepatic damage--and who died after two days of intensive care. The analytical assessment of CCl4 concentration was performed on several biological fluids and tissues employing gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) head space method. Both urine (328.5 mg/L) and bile (169.8 mg/L) had high concentrations of CCl4, proving that the chemical undergoes extensive urinary and biliary excretion. In accordance with the high clearance power of lungs, systemic venous blood, (143.4 mg/L) had a concentration of CCl4 almost two and half times greater than in arterial blood (57.5 mg/L), representing the best specimen to correlate CCl4 blood concentration with the deep of narcosis. Vitreous humor, (170.5 mg/L) concentration of CCl4 proves the capability of the chemical to enter eyes and its relatively slow release into the systemic blood. Pancreas (657.9 mg/kg), brain (243 mg/kg) and testis (237.3 mg/kg) have great affinity for CCl4. The concentrations of the chemical in brain are cortex: 243.2 mg/kg, basal ganglia: 216.1 mg/kg, medulla oblongata: 243.3 mg/kg and cerebellum: 175.3 mg/kg. As the depth of narcosis is correlated with CCl4 concentration, brain represents the most suitable tissue for toxicologic analysis. Lower concentrations of the chemical are found in lungs (127.3 mg/kg), kidneys (150.5 mg/kg), muscle (71.1 mg/kg), myocardium (78.5 mg/kg) and spleen (68.3 mg/kg). Liver (58.6 mg/Kg), a frequently analyzed tissue in forensic toxicology, shows the lowest concentration.
authors.affiliation: Cattedre di Medicina Legale, University of Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tombolini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cingolani
mesh_terms: D000061:Accidents, Home; D000368:Aged; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D002252:Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride