Citation

Sadler DW, Quigley C. J. Forensic Sci. 1995; 40(5): 903-905.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Medicine, Dundee Royal Infirmary, Scotland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7595337

Abstract

The death of a 23-year-old man by suicidal flecainide and alcohol poisoning is reported. Flecainide was identified by ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Flecainide levels, quantitated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection were: femoral blood 7.3 mg/L, urine 117 mg/L, stomach contents 19 mg and liver 302 mg/kg. Ethanol levels in femoral blood, urine and vitreous humor were 107, 136 and 113 mg%, respectively. The importance of carefully considering all the available pathological and toxicological data, together with the past medical history and circumstances surrounding the death in poisoning cases is emphasized.

Language: en