title: Patterns of drugs & poisons in southern area of South Korea in 2014.
abstract: The southern area of South Korea consists of three parts; Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do. Busan Institute of National Forensic Service (NFS) performed about 50,000 cases throughout the southern area in 2014, occupying over 15% of total cases covered by NFS. In this study, patterns of drugs and poisons in the southern area of South Korea were investigated. The investigation was carried out by the laboratory information management system of NFS between January and December of 2014. As results, a total of 606 autopsy cases were performed by Busan Institute of NFS in 2014. Among them, 15 cases were determined as drug intoxication or poisons as the cause of death, taking up 2.5% of total cases: 5 cases of intoxication by drugs, 5 by agricultural pesticides, 3 by illicit drugs, and 1 each by detergents and chemical substances. A total of 108 drugs in postmortem bloods were detected from the autopsy cases, and the top 5 drugs were chlorpheniramine, tramadol, diazepam, zolpidem and lidocaine. Meanwhile, a total of 1,728 cases were submitted for illicit drug testing in 2014. Among them, hair was the most common type of specimens, and the rate of positive detection of methamphetamine from the hair, urine, and seized materials in the southern area was over 50% in all cases, indicating that this is the most commonly abused drug in South Korea. A total of 12 types of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) were detected in the southern area in 2014; 10 were identified as synthetic cannabinoids and 2 as alkyl nitrites.
authors.affiliation: National Forensic Service, 10 Ipchoon-ro, Wonju, Gangwon-do, South Korea. Electronic address: emkim4725@korea.kr.
authors.forename: Eunmi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Daejeon Institute, National Forensic Service, 1524 Yuseong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea. Electronic address: yhpark9@korea.kr.
authors.forename: Yonghoon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Busan Institute, National Forensic Service, 50 Geumoh-ro, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan, South Korea. Electronic address: sanchee@korea.kr.
authors.forename: Hongil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, South Korea. Electronic address: hschung1024@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Heesun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001646:Bile / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis; D011041:Poisoning / Q000401:mortality*; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D010575:Pesticides; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations
keywords: Autopsy; Drug intoxication; Illicit drug; Novel psychoactive substances (NPSs); Poison; Southern area of South Korea