ABSTRACT
Retrograde amnesia is a recognised neurological complication of carbon monoxide poisoning. This article describes the case of a female found dead in her bath where initial post-mortem findings and the surrounding circumstances raised strong suspicions of homicide, especially when there was contradictory evidence from her husband who was the only other person present. He was later diagnosed as having retrograde amnesia between his two visits to the bathroom to attend to his wife which caused him to merge them into one event, thus arousing suspicions of foul play. The discussion explores the current clinical views on non-fatal carbon monoxide poisoning as well as problems of interpretation of information derived from case work.
Subject(s)
Amnesia, Retrograde/etiology , Carbon Monoxide Poisoning/complications , Carboxyhemoglobin/analysis , Drowning/etiology , Drowning/pathology , Environmental Exposure/adverse effects , Female , Forensic Medicine , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
In infants, pulmonary haemosiderin has been put forward as a marker of previous asphyxic abuse and possible grounds for suspicion of homicide. Review of the available literature does not provide a strong enough evidence base to support this claim. Further research is needed before instigation of criminal proceedings can be justified on this pathological finding.
