Citation

Kłys M, Rojek S, Klementowicz W, Bolechała F. Przegl. Lek. 2004; 61(4): 414-418.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Przeglad Lekarski)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15521618

Abstract

A development of contemporary analytical methods makes possible to use hairs in toxicological analysis for documentation history of drug administration. An undertaken subject has been illustrated by a suicidal fatal poisoning of 58-year-old man with a neuroleptic drug--levomepromazine. Toxicological analysis carried out by HPLC/APCI/MS, besides of standardized postmortem specimen as blood, urine, liver and cerebrospinal fluid included also victim hairs. As a result of analytical procedure levomepromazine at high concentrations was revealed, which may be responsible for death. Moreover, and antiepileptic drug--oxcarbazepine and two main metabolites at therapeutic concentrations were revealed parallel. In three 2-cm segments of hair oxcarbazepine and two metabolites were detected, levomepromazine, in contrary, was not detected in this specimen. Complex chemical-toxicological investigation confirmed information that victim was an epileptic patient and was treated with oxcarbazepine at least 6 months before death while toxic dose of levomepromazine, as one could suppose, he took to commit suicide.

Language: pl

Keywords

Anticonvulsants; Antipsychotic Agents; Carbamazepine; Epilepsy; Fatal Outcome; Hair; Humans; Male; Methotrimeprazine; Middle Aged; Oxcarbazepine; Suicide; Time Factors