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The "Suicide by Salt" Epidemic (Individual)

Case Series of Self-Inflicted Sodium Nitrite Toxicity in Three Michigan Counties: A Comparison of Scene Investigations, Toxicology, and Autopsy Findings. Sodium nitrite toxicity has become increasingly popular as a means for suicide due to its ease of access within the United States. It is commercially available and used as a food additive, antifreeze admixture, and medically utilized as an antidote for cyanide poisoning. Ingestion of a large amount of sodium nitrite, an odorless, white, and water-soluble crystalline powder, can induce severe methemoglobinemia; a metabolic disorder characterized by the inability of hemoglobin to bind and carry oxygen throughout the body. The presentation highlights eight cases from three different southeast Michigan counties of suicide by sodium nitrite ingestion. The presentation also explores the social aspect in the alarming increase rate of suicide by sodium nitrite ingestion, and the careful considerations forensic pathologists need to be aware of when encountering these cases.

Batoul Aoun, MD

Dr. Batoul Aoun is currently  a forensic pathology fellow at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington DC. She completed a 4 years anatomic and clinical pathology residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor MI, where she also served as chief resident in her 3rd and 4th year.  During her residency, Batoul presented four times (including two platform presentations) at the National Association of Medical Examiners conference (NAME) and received the John Smialek Best Resident Poster in NAME 2020 for her poster titled " SARS-CoV-2 in the Kidneys: Postmortem Renal Histopathologic Findings in Three patients with COVID-19".  Batoul is very active in the field of forensic pathology and medical education.  

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The "Suicide by Salt" Epidemic
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