title: Fatal intoxication with 3-methyl-N-methylcathinone (3-MMC) and 5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (5-APB).
abstract: The emergence of a large number of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) in recent years poses a serious problem to clinical and forensic toxicologists. Here we report a patient who administrated ca. 500mg of 3-MMC (3-methyl-N-methylcathinone) and 400mg of 5-APB (5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran) in combination with 80g of ethyl alcohol. The clinical manifestations included agitation, seizures, hypertension, tachycardia, hyperthermia and bradycardia. The patient did not recover and died around 4h after the use of drugs. The cause of death was acute cardiovascular collapse that occurred following mixed intoxication with NPSs and alcohol. Toxicological analysis of post-mortem blood revealed 3-MMC and 5-APB in concentrations of 1.6μg/mL and 5.6μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the serum alcohol concentration was 1.4g/L in ante-mortem sample collected 1h after admission to the hospital. This is the first report on blood concentration of 3-MMC and 5-APB in fatal intoxication.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland. Electronic address: padamowicz@ies.krakow.pl.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adamowicz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zuba
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Bogumiła
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Byrska
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D062787:Drug Overdose; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning; D011437:Propylamines / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D015198:Designer Drugs; D011437:Propylamines; C000608250:5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran; D008694:Methamphetamine; C000595610:3-methylmethcathinone
keywords: 3-MMC; 5-APB; Analysis; Intoxication