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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 27, Number 3, April 2003,
pp. 145-148
TECHNICAL NOTE: Distribution of Butalbital in Postmortem
Tissues and Fluids from Non-Overdose Cases
Russell J. Lewis, Robert D. Johnson, Travis
L. Southern, and Dennis
V. Canfield
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Federal Aviation Administration, Toxicology
and Accident Research Laboratory, AAM-610, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
73125
During the investigation
of fatal aviation accidents, postmortem samples from the pilots/co-pilots
are submitted to the Federal
Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI)
for toxicological analysis. Although therapeutic levels for most drugs are
typically reported in the scientific literature for blood and plasma, blood
specimens are received in only approximately 70% of our cases. Therefore,
it is imperative for an accident investigator and forensic toxicologist to
be able to estimate drug concentrations in an aviation accident victim’s
blood from available tissue drug concentrations. This is exemplified by a
recent aviation fatality in which butalbital was identified in the muscle
tissue of a pilot. In this case, no blood was available for analysis, but
investigators needed to know the approximate butalbital concentration expected
in the victim’s blood. Certain side effects of butalbital, such as
drowsiness, sedation, dizziness, and a feeling of intoxication, could affect
pilot performance and become a significant factor in an aviation accident.
Thus, our laboratory determined the distribution of butalbital in various
postmortem tissues and fluids. The distribution coefficients for butalbital,
expressed as specimen/blood ratios, were found to be as follows: 0.66 ± 0.09
(muscle, n = 4), 0.98 ± 0.09 (kidney, n = 4), 0.87 ± 0.06 (lung,
n = 4), 0.75 ± 0.03 (spleen, n = 4), 0.96 ± 0.07 (brain, n
= 3), 2.22 ± 0.04 (liver, n = 4), and 0.91 ± 0.17 (heart, n
= 2). The results obtained from our limited number of cases suggest that
muscle, kidney, lung, spleen, brain, liver, and heart could be used, in a
cautious and conservative fashion, to estimate butalbital blood concentrations. Reproduction
of editorial content of this journal is prohibited without publisher’s
permission.
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