title: Undetected drug addict fatalities.
abstract: A urine screening in fatalities with an unnatural or unknown cause of death (13-40 years of age) was carried out to evaluate the proportion of undetected drug-related cases. Ten out of 160 fatalities without a hint of drug consumption were classified as drug-related according to the definition of the Bundeskriminalamt; 5 of them committed suicide. Moreover, we found a relevant amount of AIDS deaths from the risk group of intravenous drug addicts not registered as drug-related deaths.
authors.affiliation: Universität Hamburg, Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schulz-Schaeffer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Elwers
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmoldt
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015982:Bias; D002423:Cause of Death; D003644:Death Certificates; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000652:urine; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data