title: Fatal poisoning by alcohol and heroin.
abstract: Drug abuse with alcohol consumption have been on the rise in Split-Dalmatian County for a while now. This article reports two separate cases with three deaths due to fatal combinations of heroin and alcohol. The first case of poisoning is related to a young couple, a 30-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, who were found dead in a car, surrounded by cans of a variety alcoholic drinks. Two needles were found beside the bodies as well. The victims were registered drug abusers who had been in withdrawal programs. The second case was a 29-year-old man who was found dead in a house. Three fresh injection marks were visible on his right arm, and two needles were near his body. He was not known as a drug addict, but he had tried to commit suicide recently. Carboxyhaemoglobin was found in blood samples of both victims from the first case. The concentration was 25% and that could contribute to their death. In both described cases blood alcohol concentration was higher then 1.60 g kg(-1). Toxicology tests were positive for heroin, meconin, acetaminophen, 6-acetylmorphine, codeine, noscapine and papaverine. Ethanol, being a respiratory depressant, combined with morphine drastically increases the risk of rapid death due to respiration failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Split University Hospital and School of Medicine, Split, Croatia. dsutlov@kbsplit.hr
authors.forename: Davorka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sutlović
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Definis-Gojanović
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D062787:Drug Overdose; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D003932:Heroin / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009294:Narcotics / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D000431:Ethanol; D003932:Heroin