NCJ Number
213761
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2006 Pages: 421-425
Date Published
March 2006
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether or not there is a link between concentrations of cocaine in autopsy samples taken from blood vessels in the leg, heart blood, urine, and the vitreous humor (jelly-like substance between the retina and lens of the eyeball).
Abstract
The study found a strong correlation between blood and vitreous humor (VH) concentrations of cocaine and a weak correlation between the urine and blood concentrations, as well as a weak correlation between urine and VH concentrations. Ecogonine was found to be a significant hydrolysate of cocaine, having concentrations of the same magnitude as benzoylecgonine. These findings are consistent with the rapid distribution of the parent drug (cocaine) and its hydrolysates in the blood and VH. The strong link between blood and VH concentrations show that VH is an important medium for toxicology testing when attempting to determine cocaine intoxication. The study involved three autopsies in suspected cocaine-related deaths. Determinations of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester, and ecgonine were performed using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with heart blood, blood from a leg, vitreous humor, and urine. A description of materials and methods addresses specimen collection, analytical methods, and calculations. 3 tables, 6 figures, and 18 references