Forensic importance of aspiration

The problems of assessment of aspiration (foreign bodies, stomach contents, food material) in forensic practical work are well-known, especially if 'suffocation due to aspiration' is considered to be the cause of death (or a concurrent cause of death). In the last 4 years (1998-2001) in the Department of Legal Medicine of the Free University, Berlin, 14 deaths with massive aspirations were investigated. The lethal aspiration cases consisted of seven men and five women between 55 and 91 years old, as well as two children (boy 6 years and girl 19 months old). All but one of the victims had severe neurological alterations (dementia, apoplexia, sequelae of head injuries). In six cases the victims died during or a short time after a meal; they had been fed by the nursing staff, a family member or another caregiver. The witness statements pertaining to clinical symptoms or the course of events ranged from 'no symptoms' to intensive cyanosis, congestion and no clear reactions of distress.