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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 31, Number 8, October,
pp.537-539
CASE REPORT: Distribution of Phencyclidine
into Vitreous Humor
Dawn Cox[1], Rebecca A. Jufer Phipps[2],
Barry Levine[1,2], Aaron Jacobs[3], and David Fowler[2]
[1]Division of Forensic Toxicology, Office of the Armed Forces
Medical Examiner, 1413 Research Blvd., Bldg. 102, Rockville,
Maryland 20850;
[2]Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 111
Penn St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201; and
[3]U.S. Army, 23610 Silversmith,
San Antonio, Texas 7825
Vitreous humor is a fluid contained in the eye
that is largely composed of water. The advantages of vitreous
humor as a specimen for postmortem drug analysis include its
relatively low susceptibility to contamination and the ability
to analyze vitreous humor with little or no pretreatment. The
postmortem analysis of ethanol in vitreous humor has been well
established. However, studies of drug disposition into vitreous
humor are limited. Heart blood, subclavian blood, and vitreous
humor specimens from 26 phencyclidine-positive postmortem cases
were analyzed to evaluate the distribution of phencyclidine into
vitreous humor. Phencyclidine intoxication was not the cause
of death in any of the cases analyzed. Specimens were analyzed
by solid-phase extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass
spectrometry. All positive blood specimens were associated with
a positive vitreous humor specimen. On average, the blood phencyclidine
concentrations were greater than the vitreous humor phencyclidine
concentrations, with average blood/vitreous ratios of 2.85 for
heart blood and 2.51 for subclavian blood. However, there was
considerable variability between cases, which indicates that
although vitreous humor is an appropriate specimen for the detection
of phencyclidine in postmortem cases, its interpretative value
is limited.
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