Drugs and driving: a systematic analytical approach.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Toxicology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Drug involvement significantly impacts highway safety.
• Reliable analytical methods are needed for epidemiological data collection.
• Previous methods may lack the required sensitivity and specificity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a comprehensive screening procedure for drug and metabolite analysis in driver blood samples.
• To establish a systematic approach for collecting epidemiological data on drug involvement in traffic incidents.
• To ensure sensitive and specific detection for accurate forensic toxicology.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a comprehensive screening procedure requiring 6 mL of blood.
• Employed radioimmunoassay (RIA), gas chromatography (GC) with selective detectors, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
• Confirmed presumptively identified drugs and metabolites using gas chromatography-chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-CIMS).

Main Results:

• Successfully analyzed blood samples from injured and fatally injured drivers.
• The described procedure provides sensitive and specific detection of drugs and metabolites.
• Validated a multi-technique approach for robust drug identification and quantification.

Conclusions:

• The developed analytical procedure is effective for epidemiological studies on drug-impaired driving.
• This systematic approach aids in understanding the role of drugs in highway safety.
• The combination of analytical techniques ensures reliable results in forensic toxicology.