Respirator toxicology

A case of delayed death resulting from drowning was investigated. A disparity in the propoxyphene concentrations determined in antemortem and postmortem specimens appeared to exist. The disparity is apparently a product of the fact that cardiopulmonary function had been maintained artificially for 57 h, with subsequent tissue autolysis that was demonstrated microscopically. Interpretation of laboratory findings on postmortem specimens must be done with caution when the interval between drug exposure and death has been interrupted by respiratory therapy.