Titre
Summary statistics for drugs and alcohol concentration recovered in post-mortem femoral blood in Western Switzerland.
Type
article
Institution
UNIL/CHUV/Unisanté + institutions partenaires
Périodique
Auteur(s)
Lefrancois, E.
Auteure/Auteur
Reymond, N.
Auteure/Auteur
Thomas, A.
Auteure/Auteur
Lardi, C.
Auteure/Auteur
Fracasso, T.
Auteure/Auteur
Augsburger, M.
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
ISSN
1872-6283
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2021-08
Volume
325
Première page
110883
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Langue
anglais
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Publication Status: ppublish
Résumé
In post-mortem investigations of fatal intoxication, it is challenging to determine which drug(s) were responsible for the death, and which drugs did not. This study aims to provide post-mortem femoral blood drug levels in lethal intoxication and in post-mortem control cases, where the cause of death was other than intoxication. The reference values could assist in the interpretation of toxicological results in the routine casework. To this end, all post-mortem toxicological results in femoral blood from 2011 to 2017 in Western Switzerland were considered. A full autopsy with systematic toxicological analysis (STA) was conducted in all cases. Results take into account the cause of death classified into one of four categories (as published by Druid and colleagues): I) certified intoxication by one substance alone, IIa) certified intoxication by more than one substance, IIb) certified other causes of death with incapacitation due to drugs, and III) certified other causes of death without incapacitation due to drugs. This study includes 1 990 post-mortem cases where femoral blood was analysed. The material comprised 619 women (31%) and 1 371 men (69%) with a median age of 50 years. The concentrations of the 32 most frequently recorded substances as well as alcohol are discussed. These include 6 opioids and opiates, 3 antidepressants, 6 neuroleptics and hypnotics, 1 barbiturate, 11 benzodiazepines (and related drugs), 2 amphetamine-type stimulants, cocaine, paracetamol, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The most common substances that caused intoxication alone were morphine, methadone, ethanol, tramadol, and cocaine. The post-mortem concentration ranges for all substance are categorized as I, IIa, IIb, or III. Statistical post-mortem reference concentrations for drugs are discussed and compared with previously published concentrations. This study shows that recording and classifying cases is time-consuming, but it is rewarding in a long-term perspective to achieve a more reliable information about fatal and non-fatal blood concentrations.
PID Serval
serval:BIB_8C70B8F9DC3B
PMID
Open Access
Oui
Date de création
2021-06-24T19:12:56.311Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-20T23:40:59Z
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Nom
1-s2.0-S0379073821002036-main.pdf
Version du manuscrit
published
Licence
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Taille
3.31 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
PID Serval
serval:BIB_8C70B8F9DC3B.P001
URN
urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_8C70B8F9DC3B8
Somme de contrôle
(MD5):2aae1c8f219e58d2f1eace27cecd36db