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Related Experiment Videos

Forensic intoxication with clobazam: HPLC/DAD/MSD analysis.

Paula Proença1, Helena Teixeira, João Pinheiro

  • 1National Institute of Legal Medicine-Delegation of Coimbra, Largo da Sé Nova, 3000-213, Portugal. paulaproenca@dcinml.mj.pt

Forensic Science International
|July 9, 2004
PubMed
Summary

A fatal case highlights clobazam toxicity. Post-mortem analysis revealed elevated clobazam levels, suggesting respiratory depression as the cause of death in a chronic alcoholic patient.

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Area of Science:

  • Forensic Toxicology
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Clobazam, a benzodiazepine anxiolytic and antiepileptic, is generally considered safe.
  • A case study involving a deceased 49-year-old female with psychiatric history and chronic alcoholism.

Observation:

  • Autopsy revealed multivisceral congestion, steatosis, and a plastic blister pack fragment in the stomach.
  • Diagnoses included bronchopneumonia, bronchitis, and bronchiolitis.
  • A plastic blister pack fragment was found in the stomach.

Findings:

  • A validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/diode array detector (DAD)/mass spectrometry detection (MSD) method was developed for post-mortem clobazam quantification.
  • Liquid-liquid extraction facilitated clobazam determination in post-mortem samples.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Blood clobazam concentration was 3.9 microg/ml, significantly exceeding the therapeutic range (0.1-0.4 microg/ml).

    • Implications:

    • The findings suggest clobazam toxicity, leading to respiratory depression, as the cause of death.
    • This case underscores the importance of comprehensive toxicological analysis in post-mortem investigations.
    • The developed analytical method provides a reliable tool for detecting and quantifying clobazam in forensic cases.