Asia Pacific Journal of Medical Toxicology

An Overview of Hydrogen Sulfide Suicides Based on Police Data in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ken Iseki 1
Akiko Ozawa 1
Keiko Seino 2
Reiko Okubo 3
Kentaro Yamazaki 4
Kaoru Goto 4
Choichiro Tase 3

1 Department of Regional Emergency Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan[Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan ]

2 Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan [Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan]

3 Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan

4 Department of Forensic Medicine, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan

https://doi.org/10.22038/apjmt.2016.7672
Abstract
Background: In Japan, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) suicides have been a serious issue in recent years. We previously studied H2S suicides using hospital-based data. However, most cases did not involve ambulance transfer to the hospital because the victims of H2S suicide were usually found dead at the scene. H2S suicide-related data elucidating an overview of the patients were therefore not available. To clarify the mechanism of poisoning, we obtained H2S suicide victim data from the Yamagata prefectural police office.
Methods: We analyzed all H2S suicide-related data available from the Yamagata prefectural police office.
Results: In this study, a total of 41 cases (29 men and 12 women) were included for analysis. We found that the number of H2S suicides reached a peak in April 2008, with 14 cases being reported, followed by 10 in 2009, 10 in 2010, 3 in 2011, and 4 in 2012. The mean age of the victims was 31.8 ± 12.2 years (range: 18–77 years), and the median age was 28 years. Sources of H2S gas included cars (22 cases; 54%), rooms (6 cases; 15%), and bathrooms (5 cases; 12%). We also identified several cases of a novel suicide method, wherein H2S was generated in a plastic garbage bag, after which the victim would put their head or body into the bag.
Conclusion: Most cases of H2S poisoning are not registered at hospital, therefore,the data on these victims need to analysis from police office data. H2S-related suicides are known to occur in confined places, such as those in cars or toilets; however a new form of H2S suicide using a sealed plastic bag is in the increase, possibly due to widespread sharing on the internet.

Keywords

hydrogen sulfide
suicide
poisoning
police
plastic bag
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