Fentanyl related overdose

An accidental overdose fatality resulting from the intravenous injection of Sublimaze (fentanyl) is presented. Fentanyl was extracted from postmortem specimens by a basic extraction procedure. Benzene was used as the extraction solvent and alfentanyl as the internal standard. The drug was quantitated by electron impact gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Fentanyl concentrations were, blood, 4.0 micrograms/L; urine, 13.0 micrograms/L; liver, 9.7 micrograms/kg, and kidney, 8.6 micrograms/kg.