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Segmental hair analysis can demonstrate external contamination in postmortem cases.

Pascal Kintz1

  • 1X-Pertise Consulting, 84 route de Saverne, 67205 Oberhausbergen, France. pascal.kintz@wanadoo.fr

Forensic Science International
|March 1, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Post mortem hair drug testing can yield false positives due to external contamination. Standard decontamination methods may not remove all contaminants, challenging interpretation of drug exposure before death.

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Area of Science:

  • Forensic Toxicology
  • Analytical Chemistry

Background:

  • Hair testing is used to detect drug use, but false positives can occur.
  • Post mortem cases present unique challenges for interpreting hair drug test results due to potential artifacts.

Observation:

  • A standard decontamination procedure involving dichloromethane washes was applied to hair samples.
  • External contamination, particularly from aqueous matrices like sweat or putrefactive fluid, proved difficult to remove.
  • Incubating hair in spiked blood demonstrated drug incorporation even after decontamination.

Findings:

  • Homogenous drug concentrations along the hair shaft suggest external contamination.
  • Standard decontamination protocols are insufficient to eliminate post mortem artifacts.
  • Drug metabolites can also be present in putrefactive material, complicating interpretation.

Implications:

  • Hair drug test results in post mortem cases require careful interpretation to distinguish true drug use from contamination.
  • Segmental hair analysis may help identify external contamination.
  • Reliance on single hair results or metabolite presence alone is not advisable for determining long-term drug exposure in post mortem investigations.