title: Evidence of polydrug use using hair analysis: a fatal case involving heroin, cocaine, cannabis, chloroform, thiopental and ketamine.
abstract: A case is presented involving a young woman on several illicit drugs (heroin, cocaine and cannabis) as well as two medications and a solvent used for their anesthetic and narcotic properties: thiopental, ketamine and chloroform. This complex drug use was supported by hair analysis over a 10.5 cm segment of the hair taken at autopsy. The average measured concentrations in hair were: thiopental = 5.3 ng/mg, pentobarbital = 10.0 ng/mg, ketamine = 11.3 ng/mg norketamine = 1.0 ng/mg, diazepam = 1.2 ng/mg, nordiazepam = 0.1 ng/mg, 6-acetylmorphine = 4.4 ng/mg, morphine = 3.4 ng/mg, codeine = 1.2 ng/mg, cocaine = 5.5 ng/mg, benzoylecgonine = 1.5 ng/mg and methylecgonine ester = 1.0 ng/mg. While the ketamine/norketamine ratio is consistent with that already reported on drug detection in hair, the thiopental/pentobarbital ratio seems to be inverted.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoired' Expertises TOXLAB, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pépin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000032:analysis; D002725:Chloroform / Q000032:analysis; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D003932:Heroin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D007649:Ketamine / Q000032:analysis; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013874:Thiopental / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D007649:Ketamine; D003932:Heroin; D002725:Chloroform; D003042:Cocaine; D013874:Thiopental