Department of Internal Medicine and Public Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Forensic Sci Int. 2010 Feb 25;195(1-3):e19-22. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.11.003. Epub 2009 Dec 1.
Nicotine, a lipid-soluble alkaloid obtained from the dried leaves of Nicotiana, is most frequently encountered in tobacco products for smoking, chewing or sniffing as well as in a limited number of pesticides. Though nicotine is one of the most toxic drugs of abuse, it has rarely led to fatalities. Sudden death can be caused by cardiovascular arrest, respiratory muscle paralysis and/or central respiratory failure. A 42-year-old man was found dead by his wife. He was lying on the floor, next to a box containing many empty bottles of beer and vodka. Some labeled chemical bottles found at the scene contained various substances, including nicotine and brucine. Gross examination of the organs at autopsy revealed no specific findings. The toxicological examination failed to disclose any lethal toxic agents other than a high concentration of nicotine and its primary metabolite cotinine in femoral venous blood (2.2 microg/mL). Blood alcohol was determined to be 2.1 g/L in femoral venous blood. Only a paucity of fatal cases of nicotine poisoning has been reported in the literature so far.
尼古丁是一种脂溶性生物碱，从烟草植物的干叶中提取，最常出现在吸烟、咀嚼或嗅吸的烟草制品以及少数几种杀虫剂中。尽管尼古丁是最毒的滥用药物之一，但它很少导致死亡。心血管骤停、呼吸肌麻痹和/或中枢性呼吸衰竭可导致猝死。一名 42 岁男子被妻子发现死亡。他躺在地板上，旁边有一个盒子，里面装着许多空的啤酒和伏特加瓶子。在现场发现的一些标有化学物质的瓶子里装着各种物质，包括尼古丁和士的宁。尸检的大体检查没有发现任何特定的发现。毒理学检查除了在股静脉血中发现高浓度尼古丁及其主要代谢物可替宁（2.2 微克/毫升）外，未能发现任何致命的有毒物质。股静脉血中的血液酒精含量为 2.1 克/升。到目前为止，文献中只有少数几例致命的尼古丁中毒病例报告。
