A CASE OF GALLBLADDER PERFORATION IN ELDERLY WHO ATTEMPTED SUICIDE

摘要

Decrease in cognitive functions and tendency for depression in elderly patients result in suicide attempts, and this remains a major health problem especially in developed countries. Oral ingestion of various caustic substances for suicidal purposes are common, however, using a mixture of these substances is quite rare. Ingestion of household products may lead to injuries in the aero-digestive tract ranging in severity from mild to fatal. Moreover, the complex chemical composition of such products makes understanding the interactions between them almost impossible. We present an elderly patient with gallbladder perforation, who had ingested naphthalene and warfarin tablets (rat poison) dissolved in a cleanser (for window cleaning).