Self-Poisonings by Use of ‘Suicide Kits’ and a ‘Home-Made’ Multi-Xenobiotics Mixes: Are They a Growing Problem in Forensic Toxicology?

first_page Download PDF settings Order Article Reprints Font Type: Arial Georgia Verdana Font Size: Aa Aa Aa Line Spacing:    Column Width:    Background: Open AccessAbstract Self-Poisonings by Use of 'Suicide Kits' and a 'Home-Made' Multi-Xenobiotics Mixes: Are They a Growing Problem in Forensic Toxicology? † by Karolina NowakKarolina Nowak SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1,*, Paweł SzpotPaweł Szpot SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 2, Agnieszka Chłopaś-KonowałekAgnieszka Chłopaś-Konowałek SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 3, Kaja TusiewiczKaja Tusiewicz SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 2, Olga WachełkoOlga Wachełko SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 4 and Marcin ZawadzkiMarcin Zawadzki SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 5 1 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Opole, 48 Oleska Street, 45052 Opole, Poland 2 Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, 4 J. Mikulicza-Radeckiego Street, 50345 Wroclaw, Poland 3 Department of Forensic Medicine, Division of Molecular Techniques, Wroclaw Medical University, Sklodowskiej-Curie 52, 50369, Wroclaw, Poland 4 Institute of Toxicology Research, 45 Kasztanowa Street, 55093 Borowa, Poland 5 Department of Social Sciences and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego Street, 50370 Wroclaw, Poland * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. † Presented at the 1st International Electronic Conference on Toxics, 20–22 March 2024; Available online: https://sciforum.net/event/IECTO2024. Proceedings 2024, 102(1), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102024 Published: 3 April 2024 Download keyboard_arrow_down Download PDF Download PDF with Cover Download XML Download Epub Versions Notes Keywords: suicide kits; self-poisoning; forensic toxicology; case reports 1. IntroductionYear by year, the field of psychiatry faces an escalating crisis, particularly concerning children and adolescents. This crisis stems from the rising prevalence of mental disorders among the population and the constrained access to professional psychiatric and psychological assistance. The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the associated social isolation, has further exacerbated this trend. The surge in mental disorders has also coincided with an increase in suicide attempts. Over the past few years, scientific reports have emerged on the utilization of online-acquired 'suicide kits' for self-harm. These kits typically consist of various compounds with distinct mechanisms of action, whose simultaneous use may induce severe, life-threatening effects. Additionally, there is evidence that adolescents can learn to assemble such 'kits' through internet forums. 2. MethodsPost-mortem biological matrices and evidence found at the scene were subjected to analysis using a variety of techniques, including LC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS, and HS-GC-FID/FID. This comprehensive approach covered a broad spectrum of substances, encompassing drugs, illicit substances, NPS, and volatile compounds. Information pertaining to the circumstances of death was obtained from prosecutors or judicial authorities. 3. ResultsThe authors will scrutinize the causes of death concerning the composition of 'suicide kits', explaining the mode of action, toxicity, and concentrations of the substances identified in post-mortem matrices. Challenges in interpretation arising from factors such as inappropriate collection and storage conditions of post-mortem materials and the instability of xenobiotics will be discussed. 4. ConclusionsThe authors' toxicological findings corroborate recorded suicide cases, involving both purchased 'suicide kits' and self-composed multi-xenobiotic mixtures. In instances of suspected suicidal death resulting from xenobiotics, the authors recommend conducting potentially extensive toxicological analyses utilizing various analytical techniques. The final interpretation of toxicological results must hinge on a thorough understanding of the entire case file, underscoring the necessity for close collaboration among forensic toxicologists, pathologists, and judicial authorities. Author ContributionsConceptualization, K.N.; methodology, K.N.; validation, K.N., K.T., O.W.; formal analysis, K.N., K.T., O.W., A.C.-K.; resources, K.N., K.T., O.W., A.C.-K.; data curation, K.N.; writing—original draft preparation, K.N.; writing—review and editing, K.N., P.S., M.Z.; visualization, K.N.; supervision, P.S., M.Z.; project administration, M.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.FundingThis research received no external funding.Institutional Review Board StatementThe research was conducted at the request of the prosecutor, therefore it was not subject to approval by the bioethical committee. To publish cases, we have obtained written consent from the prosecutors.Informed Consent StatementNot applicable.Data Availability StatementThe datasets utilized and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Conflicts of InterestThe authors declare no conflict of interest.Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Share and Cite MDPI and ACS Style Nowak, K.; Szpot, P.; Chłopaś-Konowałek, A.; Tusiewicz, K.; Wachełko, O.; Zawadzki, M. Self-Poisonings by Use of 'Suicide Kits' and a 'Home-Made' Multi-Xenobiotics Mixes: Are They a Growing Problem in Forensic Toxicology? Proceedings 2024, 102, 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102024 AMA Style Nowak K, Szpot P, Chłopaś-Konowałek A, Tusiewicz K, Wachełko O, Zawadzki M. Self-Poisonings by Use of 'Suicide Kits' and a 'Home-Made' Multi-Xenobiotics Mixes: Are They a Growing Problem in Forensic Toxicology? Proceedings. 2024; 102(1):24. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102024 Chicago/Turabian Style Nowak, Karolina, Paweł Szpot, Agnieszka Chłopaś-Konowałek, Kaja Tusiewicz, Olga Wachełko, and Marcin Zawadzki. 2024. "Self-Poisonings by Use of 'Suicide Kits' and a 'Home-Made' Multi-Xenobiotics Mixes: Are They a Growing Problem in Forensic Toxicology?" Proceedings 102, no. 1: 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024102024 Article Metrics No No Article Access Statistics Multiple requests from the same IP address are counted as one view.