Citation

Dinis-Oliveira RJ, Carvalho F, Duarte JA, Dias R, Magalhães T, Santos A. Forensic Sci. Int. 2010; 202(1-3): e23-7.

Affiliation

Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Clinical Analysis and Public Health, Center of Research in Health Technologies (CITS)-IPSN-CESPU, CRL, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal; REQUIMTE, Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.04.047

PMID

20537829

Abstract

Psychiatric deviations resulting from alcohol and illegal drug abuse may be considered a major risk factor for suicidal behavior. This report describes a suicide by hanging, under the influence of ketamine and alcohol. The victim was a 29-year-old man, found dead hanging by the neck from a metallic beam in the ceiling of his workplace. Besides characteristic signs of hanging seen at the autopsy, toxicological analysis revealed a femoral blood concentration of ketamine and ethanol of 1.3mg/L and 0.66g/L, respectively. Positive qualitative results for ketamine were also detected, in a powder found near the victim and on the victim's nostrils, which suggests nasal inhaling as administration route. The hallucinogenic effects caused by ketamine, associated with an increased sensitivity of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors to ketamine as result of the previous history of alcoholism should be considered as potential inducing factors in suicide behaviors.

Language: en