title: [Lethal myocardial injury associated with hydrogen sulfide poisoning: report of two cases].
abstract: We investigated two cases of hydrogen sulfide poisoning in which the patients showed lethal myocardial injury. Both patients had planned to commit suicide by inhaling hydrogen sulfide. In case 1, a 17-year-old man was confused and was brought to our hospital by ambulance. An electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed diffuse elevation of the ST segment on the second hospital day. The patient recovered and was discharged from the hospital on the 15th day. However, he died suddenly on the 18th day. In case 2, a 21-year-old man was found lying on the floor and was admitted to our hospital. ECG showed tall T waves after 5 hr. Tachycardia and tachypnea occurred after 12 hr. After 16 hr, the ECG showed a marked elevation of the ST segment, and the patient developed cardiac arrest. Even though percutaneous cardiopulmonary support was used, he died on the 4th day. It is highly probable that myocardial injury asscociated with hydrogen sulfide poisoning was not caused by systemic hypoxia but by selective myocardial toxicity. These cases demonstrate that delayed presentation of a lethal myocardial injury should be considered while treating cases of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
authors.affiliation: Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center, Niigata City General Hospital.
authors.forename: Yukinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumagai
authors.forename: Toshiharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirose
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D004562:Electrocardiography; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000506:poisoning*; D008297:Male; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide