Citation

Boland DM, Reidy LJ, Seither JM, Radtke JM, Lew EO. J. Forensic Sci. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Chief Medical Examiner, Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department, 1851 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, 33136, FL.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.14098

PMID

31211877

Abstract

Forty-three fatalities involving the potent synthetic cannabinoid, 5-Fluoro-ADB, are summarized. For each case, a description of the terminal event, autopsy findings, cause of death, qualitative identification of 5-Fluoro-ADB and its ester hydrolysis metabolite, 5-Fluoro-ADB metabolite 7, in urine, and the quantitative values obtained in the blood specimens are outlined. Central blood concentrations ranged from 0.010 to 2.2 ng/mL for 5-Fluoro-ADB and 2.0 to 166 ng/mL for 5-Fluoro-ADB metabolite 7. Peripheral blood concentrations ranged from 0.010 to 0.77 ng/mL and 2.0 to 110 ng/mL for 5-Fluoro-ADB and 5-Fluoro-ADB metabolite 7, respectively. The majority of cases resulted in central to peripheral blood concentration ratios greater than 1 for 5-Fluoro-ADB (58%) and 5-Fluoro-ADB metabolite 7 (71%) suggesting that postmortem redistribution occurs to some extent. Combining the increased cardiac weight and/or gastric volume and toxicology data identifying 5-Fluoro-ADB, it is hypothesized that abuse of this substance may precipitate a dysrhythmia and cause sudden death.

© 2019 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

5-Fluoro-ADB; forensic pathology; forensic science; forensic toxicology; postmortem redistribution; synthetic cannabinoids