Quantitation of Methamphetamine and Amphetamine in Postmortem Canine Tissues and Fluids

The production and use of the highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine are a serious public health problem in the United States and globally. Because of its increased popularity with recreational drug users, accidental or intentional poisoning incidents in companion animals have become an unavoidable scenario in veterinary medicine. We describe a case of methamphetamine poisoning in a 4-year-old female German Shepherd with postmortem analytical quantitation of methamphetamine and its metabolite, amphetamine, in bodily tissues and fluids. Many tissues and bodily fluids can be tested to confirm methamphetamine exposure. More importantly, the higher concentrations found in stomach contents, liver, kidney and heart tissue suggest these are the most useful diagnostic specimens for postmortem confirmation of toxicosis in pets especially in cases in which source material is not available for testing or in cases with no postmortem evaluation.