Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2018 Apr 20:24:74-76.
doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2018.04.010. eCollection 2018.

Thoracic empyema and pectoral abscess resulting from attempting suicide by injection of benzene in the pleural cavity

Sjaak Pouwels  1 , Chris Nijdam  2 , Manon L Zwinkels  2 , Marie-Chantal Struijs  1 , Robert Kortekaas  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Thoracic empyema and pectoral abscess resulting from attempting suicide by injection of benzene in the pleural cavity

Sjaak Pouwels et al. Respir Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Exposure to hydrocarbon compounds, such as benzene may cause injury to several organ systems. It occurs accidentally or intentionally by ingestion, inhalation, cutaneous exposure and either subcutaneous injection or intravenous injection. We report a patient who injected benzene into the left hemithorax and secondly attempted to commit suicide with paracetamol.

Case presentation: A 52-year old man was admitted in the hospital because of an attempted suicide with an injection of benzene in the left hemithorax and ingestion of 50 tablets of 500 mg paracetamol. He developed a hydro-tensionpneumothorax due to inflammatory pleural effusion as a reaction to intrathoracic benzene. Therefore a chest-tube was inserted. A few days later he developed an empyema in the left lung and secondly a pectoral abscess, which required surgical debridement. After surgery, recovered fully and after 23 days of hospitalisation he was discharged to a psychiatric care facility.

Conclusion: Hydrocarbon poisoning is either accidentally or intentionally and leads to thoracic pathology in rare cases. The most affected organ system is the respiratory system, and the cytotoxic effects of hydrocarbons can manifest as respiratory failure, pneumonitis and even acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Keywords: Benzene intoxication; Hydrocarbon poisoning; Thoracic empyema.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Chest X-ray on day 2, showing a small pneumothorax at the left upper quadrant of the left lung.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Chest X-ray on day 3, showing a hydro-tensionpneumothorax of the left lung.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Chest X-ray's on day 4, 5 and 6, showing improvement of the pneumothorax.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Chest X-ray's on day 9, showing an empyema in the left lower lobe of the left lung.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
CT-scan images of an empyema of the left lung and a pectoral abscess.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Porraga M., West J.M. Hydrocarbons. In: Bania T., Brent J., Hoffman R.S., editors. Emergency Toxicology. Lippinscott Raven; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1998. pp. 299–313.
    1. Rush M.D., Schoenfeld C.N., Watson W.A. Skin necrosis and venous thrombosis from subcutaneous injection of charcoal lighter fluid (naptha) Am. J. Emerg. Med. 1998;16(5):508–511. - PubMed
    1. Paul R., Talukdar A., Bhattacharya R., Santra G. gamma-Benzene hexachloride poisoning leading to acute hepatorenal decompensation. BMJ Case Rep. 2013;2013 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Solak I., Cankayali I., Aksu H., Moral A.R. An interesting thinner intoxication case: intrathoracic injection. Adv. Ther. 2006;23(3):502–505. - PubMed
    1. Bushe C.J. Attempted suicide by intravenous injection of lighter fuel presenting as an unusual cause of crepitus. Hum. Toxicol. 1986;5(5):347. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources