Citation

Kłys M, Białka J, Bujak-Gizycka B. Leg. Med. (Elsevier) 2000; 2(2): 93-100.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Japanese Society of Legal Medicine, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S1344-6223(00)80031-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This report details a suicide by pancuronium bromide injection by a 31-year old female anesthesiologist. Pancuronium bromide was identified in the blood and brain by means of ion-pair extraction followed by thin-layer chromatography, spectrophotometry and electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry. After this positive identification, the levels of pancuronium were carefully quantified by spectrophotometry: 1.05 mg/ml on the blood and 0.51 mg/g in the brain. The cause of death was judged to be asphyxia due to respiratory muscle paralysis caused by pancuronium. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.

Language: en

Keywords

adult; article; asphyxia; autopsy; blood level; brain level; breathing muscle; case report; Electrospray ionization; Fatal poisoning; female; human; human tissue; ion pair extraction; mass spectrometry; Mass spectrometry; Pancuronium; pancuronium bromide; paralysis; self poisoning; spectrophotometry; suicide; thin layer chromatography; toxicology