Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology

, Volume 11, Issue 4, pp 584–588 | Cite as

Chronic occupational N, N-dimethylformamide poisoning induced death: a case report

Case Report

Abstract

N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) is a toxic solvent that is widely used in many industries. Death directly attributed to DMF poisoning is rare. We report the case of a 40-year-old female who died of liver failure after occupational exposure to DMF poisoning over the course of 70 days, followed by 64 days treatment in hospital. Based on clinical procedures, autopsy findings, and environmental air quality assessment, the death in this case was confirmed to be the result of chronic DMF poisoning. This case gives further insight into occupational chronic poisoning-induced death, especially with negative toxicological analysis of rapid metabolism toxins poisoning.

Keywords

Forensic toxicology Forensic pathology N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) Occupational disease Negative toxicological analysis 

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Ji Zhang and Wenhe Li for assistance with the autopsy. This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81273336).

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanPeople’s Republic of China
  2. 2.Department of InvestigationHubei University of PoliceWuhanPeople’s Republic of China

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