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Flualprazolam Blood Concentrations in 197 Forensic Investigation Cases

Flualprazolam Blood Concentrations in 197 Forensic Investigation Cases Abstract Flualprazolam is a designer benzodiazepine and novel psychoactive substance (NPS) that is increasing in prevalence and appearing in forensic investigations. Flualprazolam was quantitatively confirmed in 197 blood samples from medicolegal death investigations and human performance cases reported between August 2019 and February 2020. Drug screening was performed using liquid chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–TOF-MS) and quantitative confirmation was performed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS-MS). A three-point standard addition protocol was implemented for quantitation in the absence of an available traditionally validated assay. In postmortem cases with quantitative results (n = 167), the mean (±SD) flualprazolam concentration was 20 (±63) ng/mL, the median concentration was 8.2 ng/mL, and the range of concentrations was 2.0 to 620 ng/mL. Four additional postmortem cases were reported positive (<2.0 ng/mL). In drug impaired driving cases (n = 22), the mean (±SD) flualprazolam concentration was 22 (±18) ng/mL, the median concentration was 14 ng/mL, and the range of concentrations was 4.4 to 68 ng/mL. The four remaining cases were of unknown circumstances. This report details the most extensive data set of flualprazolam intoxication cases reported to date. There was significant overlap in concentrations of flualprazolam between postmortem and DUID cases. Flualprazolam was commonly (83% of the time) found in combination with opioids (e.g. fentanyl). Toxicologists should consider quantitative flualprazolam results in the context of case history, observations, and/or other toxicological findings. Addition of flualprazolam to the scope of drug testing should be considered by all laboratories. Flualprazolam, Benzodiazepine, Postmortem, DUID, Forensic, Toxicology, NPS This content is only available as a PDF. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected] This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Analytical Toxicology Oxford University Press

Flualprazolam Blood Concentrations in 197 Forensic Investigation Cases

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References (23)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
ISSN
0146-4760
eISSN
1945-2403
DOI
10.1093/jat/bkaa070
Publisher site
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Abstract

Abstract Flualprazolam is a designer benzodiazepine and novel psychoactive substance (NPS) that is increasing in prevalence and appearing in forensic investigations. Flualprazolam was quantitatively confirmed in 197 blood samples from medicolegal death investigations and human performance cases reported between August 2019 and February 2020. Drug screening was performed using liquid chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–TOF-MS) and quantitative confirmation was performed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS-MS). A three-point standard addition protocol was implemented for quantitation in the absence of an available traditionally validated assay. In postmortem cases with quantitative results (n = 167), the mean (±SD) flualprazolam concentration was 20 (±63) ng/mL, the median concentration was 8.2 ng/mL, and the range of concentrations was 2.0 to 620 ng/mL. Four additional postmortem cases were reported positive (<2.0 ng/mL). In drug impaired driving cases (n = 22), the mean (±SD) flualprazolam concentration was 22 (±18) ng/mL, the median concentration was 14 ng/mL, and the range of concentrations was 4.4 to 68 ng/mL. The four remaining cases were of unknown circumstances. This report details the most extensive data set of flualprazolam intoxication cases reported to date. There was significant overlap in concentrations of flualprazolam between postmortem and DUID cases. Flualprazolam was commonly (83% of the time) found in combination with opioids (e.g. fentanyl). Toxicologists should consider quantitative flualprazolam results in the context of case history, observations, and/or other toxicological findings. Addition of flualprazolam to the scope of drug testing should be considered by all laboratories. Flualprazolam, Benzodiazepine, Postmortem, DUID, Forensic, Toxicology, NPS This content is only available as a PDF. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected] This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)

Journal

Journal of Analytical Toxicology – Oxford University Press

Published: Mar 1, 2008

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