title: A fatal case considered to be due to cardiac arrhythmia associated with butane inhalation.
abstract: An autopsy case of a 14-year-old boy whose death is considered to be a result of cardiac arrhythmia after butane inhalation and sample preservation for butane analysis are reported. The electrocardiogram taken in the ambulance revealed ventricular fibrillation. There were no autopsy findings as to the cause of death. n-Butane, isobutane and propane were identified in the blood, brain and lung of the cadaver by headspace gas chromatography. Based on these results, the cause of death was concluded to be cardiac arrhythmia due to butane inhalation. As a follow-up, n-butane, isobutane and propane concentrations in the blood kept at -30 degrees C showed the unchanged values with a coefficient of variation of within 10% for 2 weeks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan. cfuke@med.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuke
authors.forename: Tetsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arao
authors.forename: Yasumasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morinaga
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takaesu
authors.forename: Taichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwamasa