1. Drug concentration in selected skeletal muscles.
- Author
-
Langford AM, Taylor KK, and Pounder DJ
- Subjects
- Acetaminophen blood, Acetaminophen poisoning, Adult, Aged, Amitriptyline blood, Amitriptyline poisoning, Analgesics analysis, Analgesics blood, Analgesics poisoning, Analgesics, Opioid analysis, Analgesics, Opioid blood, Analgesics, Opioid poisoning, Anti-Anxiety Agents analysis, Anti-Anxiety Agents blood, Anti-Anxiety Agents poisoning, Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic analysis, Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic blood, Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic poisoning, Cadaver, Central Nervous System Agents blood, Central Nervous System Agents poisoning, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Diaphragm chemistry, Dothiepin blood, Dothiepin poisoning, Drug Overdose etiology, Female, Forensic Medicine methods, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Suicide, Temazepam blood, Temazepam poisoning, Time Factors, Tissue Distribution, Toxicology methods, Acetaminophen analysis, Amitriptyline analysis, Central Nervous System Agents analysis, Dothiepin analysis, Muscle, Skeletal chemistry, Temazepam analysis
- Abstract
We evaluated the homogeneity of drug concentrations in muscle in 14 cadavers, comprising 11 drug overdoses and three cases of chronic therapeutic drug use. Analyses were performed on samples from twelve named muscles and femoral venous blood. Standard analytical techniques and instrumentation were used throughout. There was marked within-case variability in drug concentrations with highest:lowest concentrations ranging up to 21.7. Overall highest concentrations were found in the diaphragm and mean diaphragm:blood ratios ranged from 1.1 (temazepam, two cases) and 1.2/1.3 (paracetamol, six cases) up to 6.5/13.5 (amitriptyline, three cases) and 5.3/21.3 (propoxyphene, four cases). Excluding the diaphragm, mean muscle:blood ratios ranged from 0.4 (prothiaden), 0.5 (temazepam), and 0.7 (paracetamol) up to 3.7 (temazepam), 4.3 (propoxyphene) and 5.7 (amitriptyline). We suggest that muscle is suitable for qualitative analysis but not for quantitative corroboration of a blood sample or as a quantitative alternative to blood.
- Published
- 1998