Amphetamine and derivatives are the crucial theme in the problems of forensic toxicology. The paper is based on the study of 20 cases of deaths in which amphetamine and/or derivatives were involved as the cause of death. Toxicological examinations of the autopsy specimens were performed with the use of HPLC/MS method in chemical positive ionization mode (APCI) after liquid--liquid extraction. The toxicological findings obtained in particular cases indicate that the majority of cases under consideration were complex. Among all 20 cases only two, probably suicidal deaths, were a result of amphetamine abuse. Some of them which were violent deaths (murder, gun-shot, hanging, drowning) of people under the influence of drugs. The majority of cases which were probably fatal accidents caused by the interaction of various mixtures of xenobiotics which included also opiates, cocaine, benzodiazepines besides amphetamine and derivatives. The concentrations of xenobiotics detected in these cases fit a relatively large range. One case is worth mentioning. This is a death of a permanent amphetamine user who survived two weeks with hematoma in brain in which amphetamine was detected postmortem. The report also discuss amphetamine and derivatives metabolic problems and contains useful data for medico-legal purposes.
Adult Amphetamine-Related Disorders