From crime scene investigation to toxicological sampling: forensic approach to volatile substance related deaths

The ready availability of volatile substances makes their abuse frequent, and especially widespread among adolescents and young-adults, with significant rates of morbidity and mortality. Even if this phenomenon has been described since 1960s, the abuse of volatile substances in forensic context is still a matter of debate. Scientific papers describe materials and procedures for sampling volatile substances when performing post mortem examination. However, proposed techniques involve the use of specific - and sometimes expensive - gas tightening materials that are not always available, whereas rapid identification of deaths related to volatile substance might be very important for the success of the whole investigation. This type of deaths could be mistaken for juvenile sudden deaths. Therefore, it is very important to search and collect all useful information, either form the crime scene or the forensic autopsy. In our work, we discuss the main pathophysiological mechanisms involved in deaths. In previous forensic papers, such mechanisms were considered less important than toxicological findings.