Kerosene condenses in the trachea following inhalation

Sella Takei; Hiroshi Kinoshita; Sachiko Kawahara; Mitsuru Kumihashi; Mostofa Jamal; Tadayoshi Yamashita; Etsuko Tanaka; Hiroko Abe; Kunihiko Tsutsui; Shoji Kimura

doi:10.1007/s11419-024-00682-4

Kerosene condenses in the trachea following inhalation

Forensic Toxicol. 2024 Mar 4. doi: 10.1007/s11419-024-00682-4. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Kita, Miki, Kagawa, 761-0793, Japan.
² Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Kita, Miki, Kagawa, 761-0793, Japan. kinoshita.hiroshi@kagawa-u.ac.jp.
³ Bio Design Inc., Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, 170-0021, Japan.
⁴ Kagawa Prefectural University of Health Science, 281-1 Hara, Mure, Takamatsu, Kagawa, 761-0123, Japan.

PMID: 38436881
DOI: 10.1007/s11419-024-00682-4

Abstract

Purpose: We have investigated the absorption dynamics of petroleum fuel components from the analytical results of autopsy samples.

Methods: Post-mortem samples of the severely burned case, including femoral blood, intratracheal contents (mucus) and intratracheal gas-phase samples were collected, and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer with head-space solid-phase microextraction.

Results: The composition of flammable substances in the tracheal gas phase differed slightly from that in mucus.

Conclusion: High-boiling point components are retained in the trachea, whereas relatively lower-boiling point components are detected predominantly in the tracheal gas phase and blood.

Keywords: Aliphatic hydrocarbon; Condensation; GC–MS; Kerosene; Tracheal gas phase.

Publication types

Letter