Determination of drugs in exhumed liver and brain tissue after over 9 years of burial by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry—Part 1: Cardiovascular drugs. Issue 3 (23rd October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bolte, Katarina; Dziadosz, Marek; Kono, Naomi; Vennemann, Benedikt; Klintschar, Michael; Teske, Jörg
• Is Part Of: Drug testing and analysis. Volume 13:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 595
• Page End: 603
• Publication Date: 2020-10-23
• Subjects: brain -- cardiovascular drug -- exhumation -- LC‐MS/MS -- liver; Drugs -- Analysis -- Periodicals; Drug testing -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Forensic -- Periodicals; 615.1901
• DOI: 10.1002/dta.2940
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1942-7603

Abstract

Abstract : This paper should serve as support for future exhumations in which an analysis of cardiovascular drugs is issued after over 9 years of burial. Amiodarone, amlodipine, atropine, bisoprolol, cafedrine, clonidine, esmolol, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, lisinopril, nifedipine, nitrendipine, phenprocoumon, torsemide verapamil, and xipamide were determined in liver and brain tissue of over 100 cases in which exhumation was performed after over 9 years of burial. Diagrams, showing the detectability depending on postmortem period as well as condition of tissues, are presented for furosemide. Abstract: This paper presents analytical results of cardiovascular drugs that were determined in exhumed liver and brain tissue in a total of 115 cases. Exhumations were executed after 9.5–16.5 years of burial. Analysis was performed by solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography–electrospray mass spectrometry. Bisoprolol, verapamil, and xipamide could be proven in all cases in which these were supposedly administered within a defined time frame. Amiodarone was detectable in over 90%, amlodipine in over 80%, and cafedrine, clonidine, phenprocoumon, and torsemide in over 50% of relevant cases. By contrast, atropine, esmolol, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, and lisinopril were found in less than 50% of relevant cases, but nifedipine and nitrendipine were not detectable at all. The percentage of positive results for liver and brain tissue for the relevant administered drugs and corresponding postmortem periods are presented per analyte. Neither time since death nor stage of degradation was a reliable predictor of the success rate, as exemplarily shown for furosemide. The presented data may serve as a reference when deciding whether to exhume a corpse for forensic‐toxicological examinations in comparable cases.