CONTACT US: Contact info
|
Citation |
Woodhouse EJ. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 1974; 1974: 147-158. |
|
Copyright |
(Copyright © 1974, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety) |
|
DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
|
Abstract |
The goals of this program were to sample the physiological fluids of fatally injured drivers and analyze such samples for the presence of a wide range of drugs; and, develop methods for the acquisition and analysis of specimens from fatally injured drivers. Specimens of blood, urine, bile and alcohol swabs from the fingers and oronsal area, were collected from 710 fatally injured drivers. Data on the crash victim and circumstances for each specimen were acquired. Collection took place between December 1971 and September 1973. Only 699 specimen sets were returned in usable condition. During analytical procedures, control samples were run simultaneously with driver specimens. A given drug may be much more detectable in one test than in another. Approximately one in 11 urine or bile tests were positive, whereas about one of 20 blood tests were positive. A positive response to one or more of the quantitated drugs, excluding alcohol, was found in 91 out of 695 drivers. Blood and bile tests greatly underestimate nicotine occurrence. The reliability of the swab test method for marijuana smoker detection needs evaluation, but the basic concept seems to have merit. Alcohol was the most dangerous drug examined, and was used more than any other drug except nicotine. The drug groups traquilizers, antihistamines, and stimulants did not furnish a large enough sample to be stratified meaningly. |