Involvement of Amphetamines in Sudden and Unexpected Death

:  In the present study, the effects of amphetamine‐class drugs were examined in cases reported to the Victorian coroner from 2001 to 2005 to determine if death can occur from the use of amphetamine‐class drugs alone. A total of 169 cases were reviewed where a forensic autopsy detected amphetamine(s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forensic sciences 2009-03, Vol.54 (2), p.478-485
Main Authors: Pilgrim, Jennifer L., Gerostamoulos, Dimitri, Drummer, Olaf H., Bollmann, Marc
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Amphetamine-Related Disorders - mortality
Amphetamines
Amphetamines - blood
Australia - epidemiology
cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology
Cause of Death
Correlation analysis
Death, Sudden - etiology
Deaths
Drug Interactions
Drug use
Ecstasy
fatal hemorrhage
Female
Forensic Pathology
forensic science
Forensic sciences
Forensic Toxicology
Humans
Male
Methamphetamine
Middle Aged
multiple drug use
serotonin syndrome
Serotonin Syndrome - mortality
speed
Studies
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage - mortality
sudden death
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Summary::  In the present study, the effects of amphetamine‐class drugs were examined in cases reported to the Victorian coroner from 2001 to 2005 to determine if death can occur from the use of amphetamine‐class drugs alone. A total of 169 cases were reviewed where a forensic autopsy detected amphetamine(s) in the blood. Pathology, toxicology, and police reports were analyzed in all cases to ascertain the involvement of amphetamine‐class drugs in these deaths. In Victoria, methamphetamine (MA) is the principal abused amphetamine‐class followed by methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). There were six cases in which a cerebral hemorrhage caused death and three cases in which serotonin syndrome was established as being caused by the interaction of MDMA and moclobemide. There were 19 cases in which long‐term use of amphetamines was associated with heart disease. There were three cases where amphetamine‐class drugs alone were regarded as the cause of death, of which two cases exhibited high levels of MDMA and lesser amounts of MA and/or amphetamine. There were no cases in which significant natural disease was absent and death was regarded as caused by the use of MA. There was no correlation between blood concentration of drug and outcome.
ISSN:0022-1198
1556-4029
DOI:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00949.x