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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
Author(s) -
Bolte Katarina,
Dziadosz Marek,
Kono Naomi,
Vennemann Benedikt,
Klintschar Michael,
Teske Jörg
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
drug testing and analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.065
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1942-7611
pISSN - 1942-7603
DOI - 10.1002/dta.2940
Subject(s) - furosemide , hydrochlorothiazide , amlodipine , bisoprolol , phenprocoumon , lisinopril , pharmacology , chemistry , nitrendipine , labetalol , verapamil , medicine , calcium , heart failure , blood pressure , warfarin , angiotensin converting enzyme , atrial fibrillation
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.