Citation

Deroux SJ, Sgarlato A, Marker E. J. Forensic Sci. 2011; 56(3): 656-659.

Affiliation

New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner and Department of Forensic Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016. New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, New York, NY 10016. Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner and Department of Forensic Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01687.x

PMID

21291469

Abstract

  We report here a 5-year retrospective review of autopsy cases from the New York City Medical Examiner's Office that demonstrated phencyclidine (PCP) in the blood. There were a total of 138 cases. There were 52 deaths because of mixed drug intoxication: the blood PCP concentrations in these cases ranged from <1 to 598 ng/mL. There were 80 violent deaths in which PCP was quantified in the blood but was unrelated to the cause of death. There were five nonviolent deaths in which PCP exclusively was detected. In four of these, there were preexisting medical conditions that could also have contributed to death. In these, the highest PCP concentration was 361.3 ng/mL, a concentration lower than seven of the individuals in our violent death category. This suggests that lower concentrations may be fatal with comorbid conditions.

Language: en