A fatal case of amlodipine poisoning.
A fatal overdose of amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker, in a 50-year-old man is described. Biological samples obtained at autopsy were screened for common drugs and narcotics. The amlodipine determination was made by HPLC with diode-array detection and a post-mortem blood concentration of 2.3 mg/kg was determined. The only other drug detected was a blood alcohol concentration of 0.008%. The presence of amlodipine was confirmed in other tissues and in the stomach content. The overdose is assumed to be an accumulation of amlodipine due to the long half-life of this drug.
Department of Forensic Chemistry and Department of Forensic Pathology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. sys.stybe@forensic.ku.dk
Sys Stybe
SS
Johansen
Jørgen
J
Genner