Sudden unexpected child death associated with ingestion of fluid dish detergent

Summary A case of sudden unexpected death of a 13-month-old child is reported. The immediate cause of death was aspiration of stomach contents. The autopsy and microscopical examinations revealed cerebral oedema, organ congestion and an increased number of neutrophils in germinal centres of mesenterial lymph nodes and spleen. The finding of ethanol and methanol (5.2 and 0.1) and of significant amounts of a surface-active agent (linear alkyl benzene sulphonate) in the stomach contents indicated consumption of a fluid dish detergent prior to death. The blood ethanol concentration was below 0.1 and urine ethanol and methanol concentrations were 0.28 and 0.04. The possibility that ethanol-containing detergents may trigger hypoglycemic attacks is discussed.