Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Italy.
Clin Ter. 2024 Jul-Aug;175(Suppl 1(4)):20-22. doi: 10.7417/CT.2024.5077.
Plastic bag suffocation may represent a very complex enigma for the forensic pathologist. The aim of this work is to highlight how the resolution of plastic bag suffocation cases is possible through the use of various forensic investigations, including psychological one (psychological autopsy) and toxicological examinations, in order to be able to define the manner of death.
A 70-year-old man was found by his daughter lying on the bed, with his head inside a plastic bag knotted around his neck. The daughter claimed to have immediately removed the bag, but the father was already dead. An autopsy was performed. The clinical history of the victim was analysed in search of reason that could lead to suicide. The statements of the people on the death scene were examined. Results were compared with the scientific literature: a literature review was performed on the search engine Pubmed, Scopus and Google Scholar using the keywords "plastic bag suffocation" and "death". The autopsy showed no typical signs of asphyxial death. Toxicological examinations revealed benzodiazepines in the urine. Investigations revealed that the victim had been suffering from severe depression.
The literature review confirmed that the most used wrapper is the supermarket shopping bag. We emphasize that plastic bag suffocation is a very quick event that does not leave any evident sign: this rapidity does not allow to appreciate the typical elements of asphyxiated death (petechiae, cyanosis). It seems that the fatal mechanism is a cardio-inhibitory, rather than a hypoxic process.
塑料袋窒息可能对法医病理学家来说是一个非常复杂的谜。本工作的目的是强调如何通过使用各种法医调查，包括心理调查（心理尸检）和毒理学检查，解决塑料袋窒息案件，以便能够确定死亡方式。
一位 70 岁的男子被女儿发现躺在床边，头部在系在脖子上的塑料袋内。女儿声称立即将袋子取下，但父亲已经死亡。进行了尸检。分析了受害者的临床病史，以寻找可能导致自杀的原因。检查了死亡现场的人的陈述。将结果与科学文献进行比较：在 Pubmed、Scopus 和 Google Scholar 搜索引擎上使用关键词“塑料袋窒息”和“死亡”进行文献复习。尸检未显示窒息死亡的典型迹象。毒理学检查显示尿液中有苯二氮䓬类药物。调查显示受害者患有严重抑郁症。
文献复习证实，最常用的包装是超市购物袋。我们强调，塑料袋窒息是一个非常迅速的事件，不会留下任何明显的迹象：这种迅速性不允许评估窒息死亡的典型特征（瘀点、发绀）。致命机制似乎是心脏抑制，而不是缺氧过程。
