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Objectives: According to WHO, suicide is the act of deliberately killing oneself. The number of suicide autopsies is comparable year by year; there are differences however in the sex and age, and the method chosen. The aim of the study was to analyze the cases of people who used their occupation-related knowledge to commit suicide. Material and Met...
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Background:
Firearm misuse is common in cases of homicide, suicide and unintentional injury; this is a major public health issue, with societal and economic costs extending beyond the immediate injury or loss of life. We sought to review the evidence on the effectiveness of Canadian legislation in reducing deaths caused by firearms.
Methods:
Fiv...
Citations
... Furthermore, this case underscores how professional knowledge and occupational access to means influence the choice of specific suicide methods. These factors are primary reasons why certain lethal means are more prevalent in specific professional groups, such as physicians and healthcare workers [14,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. It is well-documented that medical doctors and healthcare workers are 1.4 to 2.3 times more likely to commit suicide than the general populationwith a higher prevalence among female medical doctors [29,31,32,35]. ...
... Depression is especially stigmatized within the medical community, as physicians fear that such a diagnosis could negatively impact their professional reputation and lead to prejudice from colleagues. Poisoning with drugs is the most common suicidal method due to the easy access and availability of medications, as well as the knowledge of the toxic effects of certain drugs [28,[33][34][35]. However, unlike typical cases, the interesting aspect of the case presented in this manuscript is that the drugs were not taken orally, as is often the case in such deaths. ...
Complex suicides are rare occurrences that can be categorized into planned (or primary) cases and unplanned (or secondary) cases. Additionally, individuals often select suicide methods based on their availability and accessibility. The body of a 58-year-old man was discovered deceased inside his medical office. He was found seated on the waiting room sofa, with his airways obstructed by several layers of adhesive tape wrapped around his head. An intravenous needle was observed in his left arm, and on the table in front of him, an empty 50 ml syringe, two empty vials of 10 ml potassium chloride, and an empty 10 mg vial of Valium (diazepam) were found. A roll of adhesive tape, similar to the one around his head, was also present. The autopsy, conducted 36 h after the body’s discovery, revealed therapeutic concentrations of diazepam and its metabolite nordiazepam in the blood samples, while potassium chloride was not detected. Integrating forensic findings obtained from autopsy, histology, and other postmortem investigation, including toxicological analysis, can aid in defining suicidal behavior and preventing misinterpretation, particularly in differentiating diagnosis between homicide and suicide. It is crucial to consider circumstantial data and professional knowledge in such cases.
... Currently, there are many studies in the literature on homicides committed with the use of insulin [40,101,102]. The variety of crimes committed using exogenous insulin, including serial murder, carried out mainly by people with at least basic medical knowledge, is striking [40,99,[103][104][105][106]. ...
Insulin is the most effective glycemic-lowering drug, and for people suffering from type 1 diabetes it is a life-saving drug. Its self-dosing by patients may be associated with a higher risk of overdose, both accidental and deliberate. Insulin-induced hypoglycemia causes up to 100,000 emergency department calls per year. Cases of suicide attempts using insulin have been described in the literature since its introduction into therapy, and one of the important factors in their occurrence is the very fact of chronic disease. Up to 90% of patients who go to toxicology wards overdose insulin consciously. Patients with diabetes are burdened with a 2–3 times higher risk of developing depression compared to the general population. For this reason, it is necessary to develop an effective system for detecting a predisposition to overdose, including the assessment of the first symptoms of depression in patients with diabetes. A key role is played by a risk-conscious therapeutic team, as well as education. Further post-mortem testing is also needed for material collection and storage, as well as standardization of analytical methods and interpretation of results, which would allow for more effective detection and analysis of intentional overdose—both by the patient and for criminal purposes.
... Suicides using professional knowledge are dominated by professionals with access to firearms and by physicians and pharmacists [18], due to their knowledge of drug composition and properties, mechanisms, interactions, dosage and toxicology, as well as easy drug access. On the other hand, suicides performed exploiting engineering professional skills are very unusual [19], and may be less predictable. Indeed, in the case herein reported, only a comprehensive crime scene investigation, followed by a thorough reconstruction of the death scene prior to the fire and by the collection of data on the working activity of the victim, allowed for the classification of the suicide as occupationrelated. ...
The term “planned complex suicide” means the combination of more than one method of suicide, planned to prevent failure of the first method to ensure a fatal outcome. Professional skills and tools are sometimes used to plan and perpetrate the suicide. A case of planned complex suicide of a mechanical engineer working with furnaces in a tube factory is herein reported. The suicide was committed in a rudimental furnace set up in the victim’s apartment using his professional skills, by assembling furniture, mattresses, books and flammable liquid present in the house. Three-dimensional models of the crime scene before and after the realization of the “homemade furnace” are proposed. The discussion will focus on the importance of a comprehensive analysis of the professional background of the victim to infer the manner of death for the identification of complex and occupation-related suicides.
