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Suicide by Gabapentin Overdose
Author(s) -
Middleton Owen
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01798.x
Subject(s) - gabapentin , medicine , drug overdose , autopsy , accidental , poison control , adverse effect , anesthesia , drug , emergency medicine , pharmacology , pathology , physics , alternative medicine , acoustics
Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug that is prescribed for both FDA‐approved and multiple off‐label conditions, and has a relatively safe side‐effect profile. Rare cases of overdose‐related adverse effects have been reported in the literature. Described herein are the circumstances and autopsy findings of a 62‐year‐old woman with a history of depression, whose death was caused by intentional ingestion of excess gabapentin. The postmortem peripheral blood gabapentin concentration as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectroscopy was 88 μg/mL. Previously reported cases of individuals surviving gabapentin overdoses are discussed and compared with this case. Based on a review of the available literature, this appears to be the first published report of a death due solely to gabapentin toxicity.