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Related Experiment Videos

Zolpidem distribution in postmortem cases.

B Levine1, S C Wu, J E Smialek

  • 1Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.

Journal of Forensic Sciences
|March 31, 1999
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Zolpidem (Ambien) was detected in eight Maryland Medical Examiner cases. While often an incidental finding, elevated levels contributed to two intoxication deaths, with therapeutic levels in non-drug-related fatalities.

Area of Science:

  • Forensic Toxicology
  • Pharmacology
  • Analytical Chemistry

Background:

  • Zolpidem, an imidazopyridine sedative-hypnotic (Ambien), is widely prescribed.
  • Understanding zolpidem's role in postmortem toxicology is crucial for accurate death investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To report the incidence and toxicological findings of zolpidem in medicolegal death investigations.
  • To analyze zolpidem concentrations in relation to cause of death.

Main Methods:

  • Gas chromatography-nitrogen-phosphorus detection (GC-NPD) for zolpidem identification and quantitation.
  • Alkaline extraction and confirmation by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Main Results:

  • Zolpidem was identified in 8 out of 8 cases over a four-year period.

Related Experiment Videos

  • In 5 cases, zolpidem was associated with drug intoxication; 2 cases showed elevated levels contributing to death.
  • In 3 cases, zolpidem was incidental with therapeutic blood concentrations (0.12-0.28 mg/L).
  • Blood concentrations generally exceeded urine concentrations; no significant sequestration in liver or kidney was observed.

    • Conclusions:

    • Zolpidem can be a contributing factor in drug intoxication deaths.
    • Therapeutic zolpidem levels do not exclude non-drug-related causes of death.
    • Analytical methods reliably detect and quantify zolpidem in postmortem specimens.