Distribution of triazolam and alpha-hydroxytriazolam in a fatal intoxication case.
The case of a 77-year-old woman who was found dead in her bathtub with her head clearly above the water line is presented. The decedent had a medical history of depression, liver disease, spinal stenosis, and diabetes mellitus. An empty medication bottle of triazolam was found in the trashcan. At autopsy, no injury or evidence of drowning was found. Toxicological analysis identified triazolam at a concentration of 0.12 mg/L in the heart blood. Triazolam and alpha-hydroxytriazolam were quantitated in the specimens received. The medical examiner ruled that the cause of death was triazolam intoxication and the manner of death was suicide.
Levine
Barry
B
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland, Baltimore 21201, USA.
Grieshaber
Alison
A
Pestaner
Joseph
J
Moore
Karla A
KA
Smialek
John E
JE
D000368:Aged; D002138:Calibration; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D006868:Hydrolysis; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000506:poisoning*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014229:Triazolam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000506:poisoning*
D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D014229:Triazolam; C028638:alpha-hydroxytriazolam