title: Hair analysis for diphenhydramine after surreptitious administration to a child.
abstract: Diphenhydramine is one of the first effective antihistamine agents to have been discovered. The compound is also used for its sedative and antiemetic effects. The first case involving repetitive sedation linked to the use of diphenhydramine as a drug-facilitated crime and subsequent impairment of a 9-year-old female victim is reported. Due to the long delay between the alleged crime and clinical examination, collection of blood or urine was of little value. Hence, the laboratory developed an original approach based on hair testing by LC-MS/MS. A single strand of hair from the victim was sampled about 7 weeks after the last suspected administration and was cut into small segments. After cutting into small pieces, about 20 mg of hair per segment was incubated overnight in a phosphate buffer (pH 8.4). The aqueous phase was extracted with 5 ml of a mixture of methylene chloride/diethyl ether (80/20), in presence of diazepam-d5, used as internal standard (IS). The hair extract was separated on an XTerra MS C18 column using a gradient of acetonitrile and formate buffer. Detection was based on two daughter ions: transitions m/z 256.2-152.1 and 167.1 and m/z 289.9-154.0 for diphenhydramine and the IS, respectively. In the hair of the child, diphenhydramine was detected at concentrations in the range 33-39 pg/mg, depending on the segment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire ChemTox, 3 rue Gruninger, F-67400 Illkirch, France. pascal.kintz@wanadoo.fr
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kintz
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villain
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salquebre
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cirimele
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004155:Diphenhydramine / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D004155:Diphenhydramine