Medicolegal Death Investigator, Scientific Investigation Department, Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, Andong, South Korea.
Department of Forensic Medicine, Defense Institute of Forensic Science, Criminal Investigation Command, Ministry of National Defense, Seoul, South Korea.
Leg Med (Tokyo). 2022 Feb;54:101994. doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2021.101994. Epub 2021 Nov 17.
We reviewed data on washing machine-related deaths between 2008 and 2020 in South Korea to analyze the case characteristics, manners of death, and causes of death. Washing machine-related deaths are very rare, and only 23 incidents were identified over the study period. Of these cases, 19 (82.6%) were related to general pulsator-type top load washing machines; the other 4 (17.4%) were related to front-load washing machines. The pulsator-type top load washing machine-related deaths occurred in people aged between 40 and 93 years (mean age, 68 years), including 9 men (47.4%) and 10 women (52.6%). The manners of death among the incidents were suicide in 12 cases (63.2%), accident in 6 cases (31.6%), and unknown in 1 case (5.3%). A Medline search of the English literature currently does not yield results for washing machine-related suicidal deaths in adults. Of the 12 suicide cases, 4 were autopsied; suicidal death was determined by postmortem investigation or based on suicide notes. Washing machine-related suicidal deaths are presumed to have characteristics similar to those of bathtub suicidal deaths. The front-load washing machine-related deaths involved boys aged between 6 and 8 years, and all cases were concluded as accidents. The cause of death was hypoxia resulting from the children being accidentally trapped inside the washing machine while playing. Greater attention to vulnerable groups, especially children and older adults, is required to reduce the rate of washing machine-related accidental or suicidal deaths.
我们回顾了 2008 年至 2020 年期间韩国与洗衣机相关的死亡数据，以分析病例特征、死亡方式和死因。与洗衣机相关的死亡非常罕见，在研究期间仅确定了 23 起事件。在这些病例中，19 例（82.6%）与通用波轮式顶装洗衣机有关；另外 4 例（17.4%）与前装洗衣机有关。与波轮式顶装洗衣机相关的死亡发生在年龄在 40 至 93 岁之间的人群中（平均年龄为 68 岁），包括 9 名男性（47.4%）和 10 名女性（52.6%）。这些事件中的死亡方式包括 12 例自杀（63.2%）、6 例意外（31.6%）和 1 例死因不明（5.3%）。目前，对英文文献的 Medline 搜索没有发现与成年人使用洗衣机自杀相关的结果。在 12 例自杀病例中，有 4 例进行了尸检；自杀死亡是通过尸检调查或根据自杀遗言确定的。与洗衣机相关的自杀死亡被认为具有类似于浴缸自杀的特征。与前装洗衣机相关的死亡涉及年龄在 6 至 8 岁之间的男孩，所有病例均被认定为意外事故。死亡原因是儿童在玩耍时意外被困在洗衣机内导致缺氧。需要更加关注弱势群体，特别是儿童和老年人，以降低与洗衣机相关的意外或自杀死亡的发生率。
