Introduction
Influence of mass media on helium inhalation
Properties and mechanism of action of helium
External findings of the corpses and scenes reported in the literature
Authors | Sex, age | Helium delivery apparatus | Autopsy findings |
---|---|---|---|
Gallagher et al. [24] | Woman, 19 | A modified air filter face mask was sealed to the skin with duct tape (nose and mouth were also covered with tape). The mask was connected to a cylinder with a plastic tube | Grey-white frothy fluid in the oral cavity |
Frothy white fluid in the nostrils | |||
Pulmonary edema | |||
Konopka et al. [5] | Man, 31 | A plastic bag was placed on the head with a tube feeding gas from a cylinder | Blood extravasations in the conjunctivas |
Blood extravasations under the epicardium | |||
Auwaerter et al. [10] | Man, 23 | A plastic bag was wrapped around the head and connected to a gas cylinder with a tube | Aqueous swelling of the lungs and brain |
Acute renal hyperemia | |||
Borowska-Solonynko and Dąbkowska [6] | Case 1 Man, approx. 30 | A gas-filled bag was placed on the head and sealed with tape around the neck. The bag was connected to a cylinder with a tube | Pulmonary edema |
Subepicardial ecchymoses | |||
Organ hyperemia | |||
Case 2 Man, 50 | A plastic bag was placed on the head and connected to a cylinder with a hose | Ecchymoses in the subcutaneous tissue of the head | |
Grassberger and Krauskopf [9] | Case 1 Man, 28 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and sealed at the neck with duct tape. The bag was connected to a helium cylinder with a tube | Frothy white fluid in the oral cavity |
Pulmonary edema | |||
Engorgement of the right ventricle and atrium | |||
Case 2 Man, 39 | A plastic mask was placed over the face and connected to the cylinder with a plastic hose | No significant morphological abnormalities | |
Case 3 Man, 39 | A plastic bag was placed over the head. The bag was sealed to the neck with a rubber band and connected to the cylinder with a tube | No pathological changes | |
Herbst et al. [50] | Woman, 19 | An open helium cylinder was lying on the corpse | Frothy white fluid in both nostrils |
The face was covered with multiple layers of plastic adhesive tape | Vomit staining over the face | ||
A cat mask was tied around the neck | Pulmonary edema | ||
Oosting et al. [37] | Case 1 Man, 48 | A plastic bag was placed around the head and connected to a helium cylinder with a plastic tube | Brain and pulmonary edema |
Distended and congested right ventricle | |||
Petechiae in the lungs and renal pelvis | |||
Case 2 Woman, 81 | A plastic bag was placed over the head. There is no information about the helium supply equipment | Pulmonary edema | |
Case 3 Woman, 41 | A cylinder and a plastic bag were found at the scene. They had probably been removed for resuscitation purposes | Congestion of the head and the neck above the level of the clavicles | |
Petechiae in the left eye | |||
Petechiae on both lungs | |||
Schӧn and Ketterer [11] | Man, 64 | A plastic bag was placed over the head. A small gas canister with helium stood on the table and was not connected to the bag | A horizontal ligature mark on the skin encircling the neck as a result of a rubber band inserted into the bag, which had been secured with a safety pin |
Reddish, foamy fluid in the nose, mouth, and airways | |||
Pulmonary and brain edema | |||
Congestion of all internal organs | |||
Pulmonary emphysema | |||
Dilatation and hypertrophy of the right atrium and ventricle | |||
Malbranque et al. [45] | Man, 26 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and fixed with a rubber band. The bag was connected to a helium cylinder with a polypropylene tube | Congestion of internal organs |
Splenomegaly | |||
Brain edema | |||
Tardieu spots | |||
Petechial hemorrhages in conjunctivae | |||
Cyanosis | |||
Yoshitome et al. [49] | Boy, 14 | The upper half of the body was inserted into an advertising balloon filled with pure helium | Conjunctival petechial hemorrhages |
Petechiae in the mucosa and serosa throughout the body | |||
Pulmonary edema | |||
Congestion of internal organs | |||
Flatulence of the stomach and intestines | |||
Frothy fluid in the pharynx and air passages | |||
Tanaka et al. [48] | Man, approx. 30 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and connected to two helium cylinders with vinyl tubes | Slight brain edema |
A small amount of frothy fluid in the trachea | |||
Congestion of internal organs | |||
Tanaka et al. [38] | Man, approx. 30 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and tied around the neck with a hair band. The corpse was disconnected from a tube attached to a helium cylinder | Moderate amounts of dark-red frothy fluid in the trachea |
Congestion of the lungs | |||
Cuypers et al. [20] | Children, 2, 4, and 6 | Six helium bottles connected to plastic bags with tubes | A “mushroom of foam” around the mouth of the youngest child |
Pinkish fluid around the mouth cavity and nose | |||
Tardieu spots | |||
Discrete conjunctival petechiae | |||
Expansion of the lungs | |||
Cerebral edema | |||
Congestion of internal organs | |||
Frost [12] | Case 1 Man, 43 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and connected to a gas cylinder with two plastic tubes put under the bag | No significant morphological abnormalities |
Case 2 Man, 31 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and connected to two helium cylinders with tubes | A large amount of gastric contents in the airways, pharynx, and esophagus | |
Bilateral petechiae of conjunctiva | |||
Wiergowski et al. [3] | Case 1 Man, 39 | A plastic bag was placed on the head and sealed with rubber tape around the neck. The bag was connected to a 10-L cylinder with a plastic tube | No information |
Case 2 Man, 28 | A plastic bag was placed on the head and connected to a 10-L cylinder with a plastic tube | No information | |
Case 3 Man, 39 | The man was found in bathtub (empty) with a plastic mask over the face. The mask was connected to a helium container with a plastic tube | No information | |
Case 4 Man, 31 | A plastic bag was placed on the head connected to a cylinder with a plastic tube | Petechiae in the conjunctivas and under the epicardium | |
Case 5 Woman, 30 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and connected to a gas cylinder with a tube | No information | |
Case 6 Man, 30s | The man was found leaning on a fence. A plastic bag was placed on the head and connected to a gas container with a vinyl tube | No information | |
Case 7 Man, 23 | A plastic bag was placed over the head. There is no information about the helium supply equipment | No information | |
Schaff et al. [36] | Case 1 Man, 39 | A plastic bag was placed over the head, and secured with a Velcro strap. A bag was connected to a helium tank with a hose | Generalized severe visceral congestion |
Lung edema | |||
Hypertensive and atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease with cardiomegaly | |||
Case 2 Man, 56 | A plastic bag was placed over the head connected with a hose to a helium tank. The decedent’s pet cat was found at the scene in a similar situation | Signs consistent with asphyxia | |
Case 3 Man, 20 | A plastic bag was placed over the head and sealed with a piece of clothing around the neck. The bag was connected with a hose to a cylinder placed between the decedent’s legs | An abrasion on the frontal scalp | |
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and cardiomegaly with left ventricular hypertrophy | |||
Papillary thyroid carcinoma | |||
Musshoff et al. [46] | Woman, 30 | A plastic bag was placed over the head connected to a helium bottle with a flexible tube. The woman's hands were bonded behind her back with a rope | Beginning putrefaction with green discoloration |
Slippage of skin | |||
Marbling | |||
Advanced putrefaction of the internal organs | |||
Liver steatosis | |||
Splenomegalia |
Authors | Biological specimen | Equipment and sampling procedure |
---|---|---|
Auwaerter et al. [10] | Lungs | The lungs were placed in a plastic box with lid which was filled with water |
The box was turned upside down, and residual air was sucked out with a syringe fitted with a T-piece | ||
The lungs placed in the box were manipulated with thick metal needles | ||
The gas from the lungs was collected via syringe | ||
A headspace vial was filled with water and crimped before pushing the gas into the vial | ||
A second cannula was used to displace water in the vial with gas | ||
Wiergowski et al. [3] | Lungs | Variant I |
The lungs were placed in a bucket full of water | ||
The bucket was put into a tub with water (to avoid air getting inside, the bucket was placed upside down) | ||
Residual air from the bucket was sucked out with a syringe and the hole was sealed | ||
The lung was pressed to release gas | ||
The gas was collected into a headspace container filled with deionized water (while gas was pumped into the vial, water was pushed out through the other opening) | ||
Variant II | ||
The lung was placed in a plastic bag and tightly sealed | ||
A silicone gasket was taped around the middle of the bag and on the other side | ||
The sealed bag was heated at 50 °C for 1 h on a heating plate | ||
In the next step, the bag was manually pressed for approx. 2 min | ||
The gas released from lung tissue was collected in the same way as in variant I (with a syringe) | ||
Malbranque et al. [45] | Trachea | The trachea was clamped |
The heart and both lungs were removed from the chest cavity, and a clamp was placed on each primary bronchus | ||
Tracheal gas was collected into a syringe and placed in a headspace vial filled with water (a second cannula was used to displace water in the vial with gas) | ||
The vial cap was sealed with Parafilm and was kept in an inverted position | ||
Stomach | The esophagus was clamped | |
The esophagus and stomach were removed, and clamps were put on the duodenum and esophagus (at the level of the pylorus) | ||
After applying pressure on the stomach, the gas was collected in the same way as from the trachea | ||
Lungs | The clamp was removed before placing each lung into an airtight container filled with water | |
The container was closed and turned upside down, and then it was placed into a larger container also filled with water | ||
Residual air was sucked out with a needle connected to a three-way valve | ||
The lid from the first container was removed before massaging the lung | ||
The gas was aspirated through a needle and placed into a headspace vial in the same way as described above | ||
Peripheral blood | 19.88 g of peripheral blood was collected into a 20-mL headspace vial, leaving a volume of 1.33 mL | |
Musshoff et al. [46] | Lungs | A modification of the method described by Auwaerter et al. [10] was used |
Each lung was placed into a separate container filled with water | ||
The containers were turned upside down and placed into a basin of water | ||
Residual air was sucked out with a syringe fitted with a T-piece | ||
The lungs were manipulated with scissors and compressed by hand | ||
The gas was collected with a syringe and pushed into a headspace vial filled with water (the vial cap was punctured with a second cannula to displace water while gas was pressed into the vial) | ||
Yoshitome et al. [49] | Stomach and airways | The gas was collected with a syringe from the stomach and airways, and injected directly into a gas chromatograph |
Lungs | A 1-cm cube-shaped lung specimen was cut and placed into a vial | |
The vial was plugged and heated to 55 °C; then, the headspace of the vial was collected with a syringe and injected into a gas chromatograph | ||
Tanaka et al. [48] | Trachea | Intratracheal gas was collected during autopsy by direct puncture of the trachea with a syringe |
The gas was immediately injected into a sealed glass vial | ||
The vial was incubated at 55 °C for 15 min and approximately 1 mL of gas was injected into a gas chromatograph | ||
Lungs | The solid tissue debris of each organ were collected in glass vials and sealed with screw caps until analysis | |
Liver | ||
Femoral blood | The samples were analyzed in accordance with the intratracheal gas sample | |
Tanaka et al. [38] | Trachea | Sample collection and preparation was performed in accordance with [48] |
Stomach | Stomach gas was collected by direct puncture of the wall during the autopsy | |
The collected gas was injected into a sealed glass vial and was incubated according to the previous report [48] | ||
Lungs | No information about sample collection is available | |
Cuypers et al. [20] | Lungs | The procedure was performed according to Auwaerter et al. [10] |
In addition, lung tissue specimens were also placed into a headspace vial and sealed | ||
Brain | Brain specimens were immediately stored in a vial | |
Peripheral and heart blood | Blood samples were collected in tubes with sodium fluoride | |
Oosting et al. [37] | Lungs | Approximate 10 g of each tissue was collected in a separate airtight glass jar (case 1) or in 10-mL headspace vials and immediately sealed with a composite magnetic crimpcap with a silicone/PTFE seal (cases 2 and 3) |
Brain | Samples were stored at −20 °C until analysis | |
Heart and femoral blood | Blood was collected in a plastic container (case 1) or in 10-mL headspace vials and immediately sealed with a composite magnetic crimpcap with a silicone/PTFE seal (cases 2 and 3) | |
Pulmonary gas | Gas was collected using a syringe and transferred into a PET/aluminum/EVA multilayer gas sampling foil bag. The bag was temporary sealed in the autopsy room by heat-sealing | |
Tsujita et al. [47] | Heart blood | Whole blood taken from the deceased was transferred to a 10-mL vacuum blood collection tube containing sodium heparin, and refrigerated at 4 °C |
Prior to the analysis, the tube containing blood was stood at 25 °C for 0.5 h | ||
Schaff et al. [36] | Blood | Blood sample was collected in a red-top Vacutainer tube (case 1) or in a grey-top Vacutainer tube (cases 2 and 3) |
Liver | Liver and lung samples were collected in metal specimen cans (cases 1 and 2) | |
Lung | Liver sample was collected in a 20-mL crimp-top vial (case 3) | |
Brain | Brain sample was collected in a 20-mL crimp-top vial (cases 1 and 3) or in metal specimen cans (case 2) | |
Varlet et al. [44] | Tissue samples | Tissues samples were taken rapidly during autopsy into 10- or 20-mL headspace vials, sealed with aluminum cap, and stored in the cold |
Gases | The procedure was performed according to Varlet et al. [51] | |
The gas sampling setup, consisting of needles equipped with taps in the closed position, was installed in the body | ||
Syringes with luer-lock fittings were fixed on the tap | ||
The gas was sampled as soon as the tap was opened, and then the system was removed from the body | ||
After sampling, gases were transferred to a 20-mL headspace vials, previously filled with filtered water, and stabilized in 60 °C for 4 h (water was expelled by another needle which was previously inserted to the vial through the septum) | ||
Injections were performed manually: 20 µL of internal standard (CH4 or N2O at concentration of 980 nmol/mL headspace) and 50 µL of biological sample were sampled in the same syringe |
Methods of detecting helium poisonings
Authors | Technique | Column | Temperature program | Mode/identification | Carrier gas | IS | Result(s) for helium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Auwaerter et al. [10] | GC–MS | Optima® 1 MS (Macherey-Nagel; 25 m × 0.25-mm i.d. × 25-µm film thickness) | Isothermal, 120 °C | SIM: m/z = 4 (helium), 16, 18, 32, 40, and 44 | Nitrogen | None | Lung: a peak detected only, no quantification |
Wiergowski et al. [3] | GC–MS/MS | Rtx-5 MS capillary column (30 m × 0.25-mm i.d. × 0.25-μm film thickness) | Isothermal, 120 °C | SIM: m/z = 4 (helium), 16 (methane), 18 (water), 32 (oxygen), 40 (argon), and 44 (carbon dioxide) | Nitrogen | None | Lung: a peak detected only, no quantification |
Malbranque et al. [45] | GC–MS | Agilent Select Permanent Gases column consisting of two capillary columns set in parallel: a molecular sieve 5-Å PLOT capillary column (10 m × 0.32-mm i.d.) and a Porabond Q column (50 m × 0.53-mm i.d.) | Isothermal, 35 °C | SIM: m/z = 4 (helium) and 44 (nitrogen dioxide) | Hydrogen | N2O | Right lung: 540 nmol/mL Left lung: 340 nmol/mL Trachea: 480 nmol/mL Stomach pouch: 980 nmol/mL Blood: 1.1 nmol/g (the signal was close to the detection limit) |
Musshoff et al. [46] | HS-GC–MS | Fused-silica capillary Colum-Optima® 1 MS (Macherey-Nagel; 30 m × 0.25-mm i.d. × 0.25-µm film thickness) | Isothermal, 120 °C | SIM: m/z = 4 (helium), 16 (methane), 18 (water), 32 (oxygen), 40 (argon), and 44 (carbon dioxide) | Hydrogen | None | Lungs: negative result |
Schaff et al. [36] | GC–TCD | J&W HP-Molesieve capillary column (30 m × 0.32-mm i.d. × 12-µm film thickness) | Isothermal, 35 °C | Negative polarity operation at 5 Hz | Nitrogen | None | Case 1 Lungs: a peak detected only, no quantification Brain: a peak detected only, no quantification Liver: a peak detected only, no quantification Blood: a peak detected only, no quantification Case 2 Lungs: peak detected, no quantification Brain: negative result Blood: negative result Case 3 Liver: negative result Brain: negative result Blood: negative result |
Cuypers et al. [20] | GC–MS | VF-5MS (30 m × 0.25-mm i.d. × 0.25-µm film thickness) + 5-m EZ-Guard column | Isothermal, 120 °C | SIM: m/z = 4 (helium), 16 (methane), 40 (argon), and 44 (carbon dioxide) | Nitrogen | None | Lung*: a peak detected only, no quantification Brain*: a peak detected only, no quantification Heart blood*: a peak detected only, no quantification Peripheral blood*: a peak detected only (trace amount), no quantification |
GC–TCD | Molecular sieve 5 Å (60–80 mesh) | Isothermal, 25 °C | Identification by retention time as compared to gas standards | No information | No information | Tanaka et al. [38]: intratracheal gas: a peak detected only, no quantification Stomach gas: a peak detected only, no quantification Lung: a peak detected only, no quantification Blood: negative result Tanaka et al. [48]: intratracheal gas: about 83.5% Lung: 160 µL/g tissue Blood: a peak faintly detected, no quantification Liver: negative result | |
Yoshitome et al. [49] | GC | HP-PLOT Molesieve 5 Å | No information | Identification of helium, oxygen, and carbon dioxide by retention time | Nitrogen | None | Air passage gas: a peak detected only, no quantification Stomach gas: a peak detected only, no quantification Lung: a peak detected only, no quantification |
Oosting et al. [37] | GC–TCD | Varian CP7429, with two columns in parallel; only the CP-Molesieve 5-Å column was used for the helium analysis. No information about column parameters | Isothermal, 30 °C | No information | Nitrogen | None | Case 1 Lung: a peak detected only, no quantification Brain: a peak detected only, no quantification Heart blood: a peak detected only, no quantification Case 2 Lung: approx. 5% in gaseous phase Femoral blood: negative result Case 3 Lung tissue: approx. 0.4% Air from the lung: approx. 0.05% Brain: approx. 0.1% Heart blood: approx. 0.04% |
Tsujita et al. [47] | GC–MS | TC-Molesieve 5-Å capillary column (GL Sciences, 30 m × 0.32-mm i.d. × 30-µm film thickness) with a particle trap (2.5 m × 0.32-mm i.d.) Or Two TC-Molesieve 5-Å capillary columns (total 60 m × 0.32-mm i.d.) with a particle trap (2.5 m × 0.32-mm i.d.) | Isothermal, 34 °C | SIM: m/z = 4 (helium), 21 (neon-21) | Hydrogen | Neon-21 | Case 1 Heart blood: 24 ppm Case 2 Heart blood: 90 ppm Case 3 Heart blood: 138 ppm Case 4 Heart blood: 497 ppm |
Varlet et al. [44] | GC–MS | A molecular sieve 5-Å PLOT capillary column (50 m × 0.53-mm i.d.) with a PoraBOND Q (10 m × 0.32-mm i.d.) | Isothermal, 30 °C | SIM: m/z = 4 (helium), 16 (methane) or 44 (nitrogen dioxide) | Hydrogen | CH4 or N2O | Tracheal gas (n = 6): from not detected up to 6.0 µmol/mL headspace gas Left pulmonary gas (n = 2): around 0.3 µmol/mL headspace gas Right pulmonary gas (n = 2): around 0.5 µmol/mL headspace gas Pulmonary gas without anatomical precision (n = 6): from not detected to 2.4 µmol/mL headspace gas Gastric gas (n = 6): from not detected up to 12 µmol/mL headspace gas Cardiac gas (n = 1): 0.64 µmol/mL headspace gas Right lobes lung biopsies (n = 7): from not detected to 41 µmol/g Left lobes lung biopsies (n = 5): from 1.2 to 14 µmol/g Lung biopsies without anatomical precision (n = 10): from not detected to 28 µmol/g Brain biopsies (n = 3): a peak detected in one case, no quantification Liver biopsies (n = 1): not detected Kidney biopsies (n = 1): not detected Urine (n = 1): not detected Adipose tissue (n = 1): not detected Cardiac blood (n = 10): from not detected (n = 8) to 0.03 µmol/g Peripheral blood (n = 8): a peak detected in one case, 1.10− 3 µmol/g |