Citation

Eiden C, Cathala P, Mathieu-Daudé JC, Marson B, Baccino E, Leglise Y, Peyrière H. Therapie 2012; 67(6): 515-522.

Vernacular Title

Décès en lien avec la méthadone de 2000 à 2010 à Montpellier et sa région.

Affiliation

Centre d'Addictovigilance, Département de Pharmacologie médicale et Toxicologie, Hôpital Lapeyronie, CHU Montpellier, UM1, Montpellier, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, John Libbey Eurotext)

DOI

10.2515/therapie/2012072

PMID

23249577

Abstract

Purpose. The objectives of this analysis were to assess the role of methadone and related substances in death occuring, discussing methadone blood concentrations and the contribution of the autopsy to the accountability of methadone in the death process. Method. We retrospectively analyzed all forensic cases positive for methadone from January 2000 to December 2010, in Montpellier and the region served by our laboratory. Results. During the study period, 64 cases of deaths (11 women, 53 men) with methadone detection were recorded. A progressive increase between 2001 (2 cases) and 2010 (8 cases) was observed. The median age was 33 years old. An autopsy was available in 56.3% of cases. The most frequent finding at the autopsy was non-specific asphyxia death signs (67.6%). Tolerance to opioids was documented in 21 cases. The methadone blood concentrations ranged from 1 to 2 800 ng/mL (59 cases, median value 330 ng/mL). Most of the cases (88%) were polydrug intoxications. The most commonly associated drugs were benzodiazepines (61%), cannabinoids (28%), opioids (19%) and cocaine (12.5%). Conclusion. During a 11-year period, toxicological analyses related to 1991 death cases were performed at the Toxicology Laboratory of Montpellier University Hospital. Of these patients, 64 deaths were possibly related to methadone. Several relevant elements (biological analysis and autopsy) were used to attribute the deaths to the sole methadone (12 cases) or to methadone and associated substances (8 cases).

Language: en