Bäckström Björn, Johansson Bengt, Eriksson Anders
Department of Forensic Medicine, National Board of Forensic Medicine, PO Box 7616, SE-907 12 Umeå, Sweden.
Section of Forensic Medicine, Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University, PO Box 7616, SE-907 12 Umeå, Sweden.
J Forensic Sci. 2015 Nov;60(6):1662-5. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.12879. Epub 2015 Aug 10.
Nitrous oxide is an inflammable gas that gives no smell or taste. It has a history of abuse as long as its clinical use, and deaths, although rare, have been reported. We describe two cases of accidental deaths related to voluntary inhalation of nitrous oxide, both found dead with a gas mask covering the face. In an attempt to find an explanation to why the victims did not react properly to oncoming hypoxia, we performed experiments where a test person was allowed to breath in a closed system, with or without nitrous oxide added. Vital signs and gas concentrations as well as subjective symptoms were recorded. The experiments indicated that the explanation to the fact that neither of the descendents had reacted to oncoming hypoxia and hypercapnia was due to the inhalation of nitrous oxide. This study raises the question whether nitrous oxide really should be easily, commercially available.
一氧化二氮是一种无味无臭的易燃气体。自其临床应用以来就有滥用史，尽管死亡案例罕见，但也有相关报道。我们描述了两起因自愿吸入一氧化二氮导致的意外死亡案例，两名死者均被发现面部戴着防毒面具。为了找出受害者为何对即将到来的缺氧没有做出适当反应的原因，我们进行了实验，让一名测试者在封闭系统中呼吸，添加或不添加一氧化二氮。记录生命体征、气体浓度以及主观症状。实验表明，两名死者均未对即将到来的缺氧和高碳酸血症做出反应，原因是吸入了一氧化二氮。这项研究提出了一个问题，即一氧化二氮是否真的应该轻易地在市场上销售。
