title: Tramadol distribution in four postmortem cases.
abstract: Four postmortem cases are reported in which the analgesic drug tramadol was identified. Tramadol is an alkaline extractable drug and elutes from a HP-5 column without the need for derivatization. Two metabolites of tramadol, N-desmethyl and O-desmethyl tramadol were also identified. Heart blood concentrations of tramadol in the four cases ranged from 0.17 to 4.4 mg/l. Tissue distribution of tramadol in the four cases failed to identify a sequestration site. None of the deaths reported were attributed to tramadol intoxication.
authors.affiliation: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramcharitar
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Smialek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001344:Autopsy; D002423:Cause of Death; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014147:Tramadol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D014147:Tramadol