What Researchers Did
Researchers reported on a case where a 48-year-old man was murdered by insulin, initially suspected to have decompression sickness and briefly treated with hyperbaric oxygen.
What They Found
They found the patient had severe hypoglycemia with a nadir serum glucose of 0.3 mmol/l. Retrospective analysis of stored serum samples showed high insulin levels (75 mU/l, rising to over 240 mU/l) and very low C-peptide levels (below 0.1 nmol/l), indicating exogenous insulin administration. This evidence helped convict the patient's wife of murder.
Canadian Relevance
This study mentions decompression sickness, which is a Health Canada-recognised indication for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. However, the study's primary focus is forensic medicine and the identification of insulin-induced murder, not the treatment of decompression sickness.
Study Limitations
As a single case report, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to a broader patient population.