Bioanalysis for cocaine, opiates, methadone, and amphetamines exposure detection during pregnancy.
Drug exposure during pregnancy constitutes a major legal issue and a public health concern. Drug and metabolite determination in biological matrices from mother and newborn is an objective indication of prenatal drug exposure. However, limited data are available regarding the interpretation of these analytical results in terms of window of detection and degree of exposure. We collected paired maternal hair, meconium, placenta, and umbilical cord from 727 mother-newborn dyads. We analyzed these specimens by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of cocaine, opioids, methadone, and amphetamines, and compared the analytical results from the four different matrices. The cases were divided in non-exposure, low, and frequent exposure, based on maternal hair concentrations and segmental analysis by trimesters. For cocaine, 62 cases tested positive in hair, 9 in meconium, 6 in placenta and 7 in umbilical cord. In the case of opioids, 14 maternal hair cases were positive, 11 meconium and umbilical cord and 9 placenta samples. For methadone, 11 cases were positive in hair, 9 in meconium and 6 in placenta and umbilical cord. For amphetamines, 18 cases were positive according to maternal hair, but all meconium, placenta, and umbilical cord tested negative. Maternal hair was the most sensitive specimen to detect drug exposure during pregnancy. Meconium, placenta, and umbilical cord tested positive if hair concentrations showed frequent drug use during the whole pregnancy, especially during the third trimester. Meconium, placenta, and umbilical cord also tested positive for morphine and metabolites, if this drug was administered during labour and delivery. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, USA.
Marta
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3858-1280
M
Concheiro
Sección de Toxicología, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Elena
E
Lendoiro
Sección de Toxicología, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Ana
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9832-012X
A
de Castro
Sección de Neonatología, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo, Vigo, Spain.
Eva
E
Gónzalez-Colmenero
Sección de Neonatología, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo, Vigo, Spain.
Ana
A
Concheiro-Guisan
Sección de Ginecología y Obstetricia, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Patricia
P
Peñas-Silva
Sección de Ginecología y Obstetricia, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Manuel
M
Macias-Cortiña
Sección de Toxicología, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Angelines
A
Cruz-Landeira
Sección de Toxicología, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Manuel
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4233-1679
M
López-Rivadulla
D000662:Amphetamines / Q000032:analysis*; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000032:analysis*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000032:analysis*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000032:analysis*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008470:Meconium / Q000737:chemistry; D008691:Methadone / Q000032:analysis*; D053610:Opiate Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000737:chemistry
D000662:Amphetamines; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D053610:Opiate Alkaloids; D003042:Cocaine; D008691:Methadone
cocaine; meconium; opioids; placenta; umbilical cord