TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) involving 4-methylethcathinone (4-MEC), 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and doxylamine highlighted by hair analysis
JO  - Drug testing and analysis
A1  - Larabi, Islam Amine
A1  - Martin, Marie
A1  - Etting, Isabelle
A1  - Penot, Pauline
A1  - Fabresse, Nicolas
A1  - Alvarez, Jean Claude
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Recently, the emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has led to their wide use among clubbers and men who have sex with men (MSM) for their stimulant effects. However, their use in drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) has rarely been described. Herein we report a case of a 44 years-old man who was assaulted after a party. Due to late reporting of the offense, only hair (black) was sampled 15 days later and a segmental analysis was achieved to look for most DFSA agents and NPS. Twenty mg of each segment (A:0-1cm, B:1-3cm and C:3-5cm) were incubated in phosphate buffer pH 5.0. After alkaline liquid extraction and chromatographic separation on 1.9 μm Hypersil GOLD PFP column, compounds were detected by a TSQ Vantage mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization in positive mode with MRM acquisition. 4-methylethcathinone (4-MEC), methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and doxylamine were found in proximal segment at very low concentrations (3, 5 and 9 pg/mg, respectively) which is in agreement with a single exposure in the previous month corresponding to the alleged facts. These substances were not detected in segments B and C showing a lack of repetitive exposure before the alleged event. Thus, the results do not contradict the patient's claim of being assaulted. Doxylamine has already been encountered in such cases but no publications referring to 4-MEC or MDPV use have ever been documented. Our case reports the unusual administration of cathinones to achieve a sexual assault and stresses the interest of seeking for designer drugs when dealing with DFSA cases.<br><br>This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1942-7603
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dta.2377
ID  - ref1
ER  -