Case report on a clinical suicide due to asphyxia without strangulation

A risk of suicide in the course of a psychiatric disorder will often be answered with an admission for inpatient psychiatric treatment, resulting in a high potential of suicidal behavior on the ward. Despite extensive safety precautions and therapeutic interventions, suicides still occur within psychiatric hospitals. Such incidents, known as inpatient suicides, are rare but significant, necessitating further examination. We present the case of a 91-year-old suicidal male patient, who committed suicide on an open ward on a Sunday morning by blocking his nostrils with cotton and tissue and breathing into a pillow, leading to death by asphyxia. The case report aims to draw attention to the possibility of this extraordinary method of suicide, demonstrating that a suicide can be accomplished in a psychiatric hospital even without the use of prohibited dangerous objects.