Development of an analytical approach to the specimens collected from victims of sexual assault

The objective of this study was to develop a screening process for the analysis of sexual assault samples. Recently, the Society of Forensic Toxicologists created a committee to address the issue of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) in the toxicology field. This committee prepared a list of drugs that could be, or have been, used in DFSAs. The list comprises about 50 compounds, including illicit, prescription, and over-the-counter drugs. Using this list, our laboratory wanted an easy, fast, and sensitive method to analyze a urine sample for all 50 of these drugs. We screened and confirmed for 20 compounds, including cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, opiates, methadone, alcohol, and PCP. A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric screening method that was able to detect the remaining 30 compounds following 1 extraction and using only 2 mL of urine was developed. The process is inexpensive and uses equipment available in most forensic toxicology laboratories. This method is recommended for any laboratory that commonly receives specimens collected from sexual assault victims and is interested in a more thorough analysis.