[Mixed fatal poisoning caused by taking L-methadone and chloral hydrate].
A 42-year-old female drug user who was enrolled in a methadone maintenance program was found dead in her apartment. Cause of death was an intoxication with chloral hydrate and L-methadone. Trichloroethanol (TCE), the primary metabolite of chloral hydrate, was quantified by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and GC/MS in heartblood (27 micrograms/ml) and urine (338 micrograms/ml). D- and L-methadone were differentiated by chiral HPLC, which showed that only L-methadone had been taken. The quantitation of L-methadone and its metabolite EDDP was carried out by GC/MS from heartblood (1300 ng/ml and 86 ng/ml, respectively), urine (5239 ng/ml and 4960 ng/ml, respectively) and gastric contents (159 ng/ml and 122 ng/ml, respectively). The concentrations of both--trichloroethanol and methadone--were in toxic ranges.
Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universität Freiburg.
Kirsten
K
Thurau
Rolf
R
Goerke
Susanne
S
Vogt
Markus Grosse
MG
Perdekamp
Wolfgang
W
Weinmann
D000328:Adult; D002697:Chloral Hydrate / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000506:poisoning*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008691:Methadone / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000506:poisoning*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D002697:Chloral Hydrate; D008691:Methadone