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Postmortem concentrations of thiopental in tissues: A sudden death case

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Summary

High-performance liquid chromatography was employed to determine the concentration of thiopental in body fluids and tissues in an individual who had died due to intravenous injection of the clinical dose. The blood concentration of thiopental was 0.6 mg/l. Among the 10 tissues examined, the brain and thymus showed the highest level of the drug; 11.9 mg/kg and 7.66 mg/kg, respectively. The results are discussed in the light of the relevant literature.

Zusammenfassung

Zur Bestimmung von Thiopental in Körperflüssigkeiten und Geweben einer Person, welche aufgrund einer intravenösen Injektion einer klinischen Dosis verstarb, wurde mit Hilfe der Hochdruckflüssig-keitschromatographie bestimmt. Die Blutkonzentration von Thiopental war 0,6 mg/l. Unter den 10 Geweben, welche untersucht wurden, zeigten Hirn und Thymus die höchsten Spiegel des Medikaments, nämlich 11,9 mg/kg bzw. 7,66 mg/kg. Die Resultate werden unter Berücksichtigung der Literatur diskutiert.

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This study was supported in part by a grant from the Shimabara Science Promotion Foundation to T. Y. and by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan to K. K. (04152052), T. Y. (04836007) and D. N. (04770356)

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Yasudal, T., Yamaba, T., Sawazakil, K. et al. Postmortem concentrations of thiopental in tissues: A sudden death case. Int J Leg Med 105, 239–241 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01642801

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01642801

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