Resource Tag: CARBON MONOXIDE

This report details a case of attempted suicide with car exhaust fumes in which the patient was diagnosed with acute carbon monoxide poisoning while suffering from alcohol intoxication. The patient also had a 20-year psychiatric history. Complications in the management of patients with multiple diagnoses are discussed. Difficulties associated with acute carbon monoxide poisoning are […]

The present chapter reviews a series of regional & time series studies on the effects of reducing the availability of firearms, toxic car exhaust & toxic domestic gas on suicide. Though the data do not provide a definitive conclusion, the results do indicate that reducing the availability of a method for suicide reduces its use […]

This presentation discussed a research study which explored the factors contributing to the increase in the use of motor vehicle exhaust as method of suicide. Psychological profiles, factors influencing method choice, & circumstances of the act of self-harm were examined in a group of suicide attempt survivors. Psychological circumstances were examined at 2-year follow-up. Results […]

This study sought to determine the effects of weather & time of year on suicide attempts by carbon monoxide poisoning. Cases of patients in western Washington State referred to a regional hyperbaric oxygen treatment centre from 1981-1995 were reviewed retrospectively. The study population consisted of 264 patients attempting suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning on 251 […]

High-risk & population-based prevention strategies based upon a number of stated assumptions & hypothetical interventions were examined. Published literature was used to estimate the population attributable fractions for both types of strategies. Results indicate that high-risk strategies would have only a modest effect on population suicide rates. The UK national target to reduce suicide is […]

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This article describes a clear-cut case of suicide & acute carbon monoxide toxicity as well as complicating factors such as appearance of an accident, absence of a suicide note, alcohol levels, incapacitation for acute medical reasons, family denial, & insurance money. It concludes that deaths in a closed garage due to acute carbon monoxide toxicity […]

This article reports on an analysis of trends & availability of methods used for suicide in Finland (1947-1990). The study confirms a strong correlation between availability & use of a method of suicide. Analysis of suicide by poisoning revealed relationships between the availability & suicide risk of various medicines. Results strongly support use of antidepressants […]

This Letter to the Editor describes an attempted carbon monoxide suicide where the man made a speedy & uneventful recovery despite spending 1 hour in his car with the engine running. Enquiry revealed the car was equipped with a 3-way catalytic converter, which at maximum efficiency, would be expected to remove about 90% of the […]

This article describes a carbon monoxide suicide in Langley, BC by 3 Quebec/Labrador teens who drove across the continent to commit suicide. Their act seems to have been inspired by the suicide of rock star Kurt Cobain. A journal (60 pages of drawings & writing) describes the youth’s month-long “last trip” from the time of […]

Lester & Frank (1989) found that US states with higher per capita ownership of cars had higher suicide rates by car exhaust. The present study replicates this analysis using 1980 data for 28 countries. It was found that nations with more cars per capita had higher suicide rates in which gas was used, but did […]

The rate of suicide in Japan using car exhaust was found to increase as car ownership became more common. This increase was halted when weak emission controls were introduced. Whether the increasing use of car exhaust for suicide led people to switch from other methods or whether it increased the overall rate of suicide was […]

In this brief letter to the editor, the author discusses carbon monoxide poisoning, one of the most common forms of attempted & completed suicide in males in western communities. Davis states that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the only method of treatment which has been shown consistently to reduce the incidence of long-term sequelae. He says […]

In this brief letter to the editor, the author says that a previous study by Buchanan (1991) on self-poisoning in Christchurch should also have included other chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, & should not have been restricted to purely pharmacological preparations.

Poisoning-related deaths in Massachusetts from 1986-87 were analyzed in 3 datasets: poison centre records, death certificates & medical examiner’s office records. Results showed only 17% concordance between the 3 datasets leading the authors to conclude that reliance on a single data source underestimates & potentially misrepresents both the numbers & types of poisoning deaths. Findings […]

In this letter to the editor, the authors discuss Hawton’s suggestion that one possible strategy of reducing suicide among young men may be to make it harder to attach tubing to car exhausts (see SIEC #920840). The present authors suggest that another strategy may be to introduce controls, such as catalytic converters, on exhaust emissions. […]

To explore social correlates of opportunity-based suicide rates, the suicide rates by car exhaust per car & per capita were calculated for the 48 continental states of the USA for 1980. Suicide rates by car exhaust per car & per capita were associated positively with median family income, married women working part-time, latitude & alcohol […]

Lindesay reviews recent research on elderly suicide in the UK. There has been little change in the overall rates of suicide among the elderly in the past decade but the methods used have changed. Age, period & cohort effects on suicide risk are discussed as well as the importance of studying attempted suicide. The issue […]

A case report of an unresponsive chemist presenting to the emergency department is presented; in retrospect, the patient was discovered to have intentionally ingested cyanide. A literature review regarding ingestions in laboratory & health care personnel revealed 5 common points: barbiturates, carbon monoxide, cyanide, azides & methemoglobin-inducing chemicals. Key diagnostic findings, in the absence of […]

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This study analyzes a patient’s ability to learn by different methods to discover a behavioral treatment. A woman who sustained brain damage as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, due to a suicide attempt, was found to be unable to demonstrate any learning on direct tests, but performed normally on indirect tests (involving implicit learning […]

This article describes the career & suicide death of Tommy Richards, a basketball official. His family history is also detailed, provided by conversations with his sister, brother, & wife. All of the people in his life described Richards as a perfectionist – perhaps in part as a result of his father’s demanding parenting style. Richards […]

This article details the sudden decline of suicide rates in England from 1963 to 1975 as carbon monoxide was progressively removed from the public gas supply. Statistics by age & sex are outlined. The authors assert that few of those prevented from using gas have found another way to commit suicide. This finding strengthens the […]