ABSTRACT
Deaths from exposure to caustic substances are infrequently reported in the Forensic Medicine literature. A case of death due to Sulphuric acid ingestion in a patient of Major Depressive Disorder is being reported. This patient was planned for Electro-convulsive therapy, prior to the procedure he had been to bathroom. And when planned to prepare for the procedure on the ECT table, his mouth has smell of pungent odour. This made the psychiatrist to withhold the procedure and subjected him for observation. Later he complained of severe chest pain and restlessness, for which he has been shifted to emergency ward with possible precautions taken before shifting. He was provisionally diagnosed of acid ingestion but there was no history either from patient or from his relatives, as patient has consumed in the bathroom just before the Electro convulsive therapy. Diagnosis was confirmed only after autopsy report. The legal issues concerning suicide in mentally ill patient, autopsy findings, forensic issues and Patho-physiology concerning death by acid ingestion have been discussed.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Autopsy , Depressive Disorder, Major , Humans , Male , Suicide/diagnosis , Suicide/etiology , Suicide/mortality , Sulfuric AcidsABSTRACT
Suicide is the second commonest manner of unnatural death flanked by accident and homicide. Suicide is by no means a simple issue, for it hinges on a spectrum of ethical, legal, sociological and psychological problems and it is yet to be offered an unequivocal and satisfactory answer to all the questions raised by this perplexing phenomenon. In an attempt to analyse the magnitude of the problem of suicide, this paper provides a comprehensive data encompassing the prevailing scenario of suicide, investigation of suicide as viewed by different workers and the importance of differentiation between accident, homicide and suicide The presentation is concluded by emphasizing the advantages of psychological autopsy in suicide investigation.