1. Doxepin and nordoxepin concentrations in body fluids and tissues in doxepin associated deaths
- Author
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Hans T. Haffner, Gisela Skopp, Antonia Gronewold, and A. Dettling
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Molar concentration ,Substance-Related Disorders ,Metabolite ,Pharmacology ,Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic ,Kidney ,Mass Spectrometry ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Forensic Toxicology ,polycyclic compounds ,medicine ,Ingestion ,Bile ,Humans ,Muscle, Skeletal ,Lung ,Active metabolite ,Cause of death ,Body fluid ,Brain Chemistry ,Chemistry ,Forensic toxicology ,Middle Aged ,Doxepin ,Gastrointestinal Contents ,Liver ,Anesthesia ,Female ,Law ,medicine.drug ,Chromatography, Liquid - Abstract
Body fluids and tissues in eight doxepin (Dox)-related deaths were investigated in order to prove whether the individual concentration of Dox, the concentration sum of parent drug and its active metabolite N-desmethyldoxepin (NDox) or the concentration ratio Dox/Ndox valuably contribute to making a cause of death determination. Individual case histories were shortly described. Dox and NDox concentrations were determined by LC-MS/MS. Dox concentration measured from two cases was well within a concentration range considered therapeutic, whereas subtherapeutic dosing may have occurred in another two cases. There were two cases of fatal Dox ingestion, as well as a case of high dosage and advanced putrefaction, respectively. The liver concentration sum may be more useful if a fatal ingestion cannot be clearly separated from a person's medication usage. High concentrations could be observed in lung tissue, and combined concentrations of Dox and NDox may also be helpful in making a cause of death determination. There was a trend to a higher concentration sum in the brain with increasing combined levels in blood. Overall, the sum of the absolute figures allows a more accurate interpretation in Dox-related deaths as compared to the molar concentration ratio which may be helpful in acute ingestion. Determination of the N-desmethyl metabolite along with its parent is recommended and analysis should include more than a single specimen.
- Published
- 2009