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International Journal of Legal Medicine

Erschienen in:

01.11.2009 | Case Report

Unassisted smothering in a pillow

verfasst von: Andreas Schmeling, Tony Fracasso, Fritz Pragst, Michael Tsokos, Ingo Wirth

Erschienen in: International Journal of Legal Medicine | Ausgabe 6/2009

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Abstract

We report the case of a 33-year-old man admitted to a psychiatric hospital because of paranoid schizophrenia. The man was found dead lying in his bed with the face pressed against a pillow and with elevated buttocks. The autopsy did not reveal a cause of death. The histological findings displayed the signs of the haemorrhagic–dysoric syndrome with acute emphysema; these findings are pathognomonic of obstructive asphyxia. The adverse effects of the neuroleptics demonstrated by the toxicological findings may have accelerated the loss of consciousness and facilitated the unusual position of the body. On the basis of the clinical history, the autopsy findings, the histological features and the toxicological results, asphyxia due to smothering was diagnosed as the cause of death.

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Titel: Unassisted smothering in a pillow
verfasst von: Andreas Schmeling
Tony Fracasso
Fritz Pragst
Michael Tsokos
Ingo Wirth
Publikationsdatum: 01.11.2009
Verlag: Springer-Verlag
Erschienen in: International Journal of Legal Medicine / Ausgabe 6/2009
Print ISSN: 0937-9827
Elektronische ISSN: 1437-1596
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-009-0362-7

Springer Medizin

Unassisted smothering in a pillow

Abstract

Neu im Fachgebiet Rechtsmedizin

Molekularpathologische Untersuchungen im Wandel der Zeit

Vergleichende Pathologie in der onkologischen Forschung

Gastrointestinale Stromatumoren

Personalisierte Medizin in der Onkologie

Springer Medizin

Abstract

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