[Identification of drugs in toxic doses in biological fluids using infrared Spectrophotometry]

A method permitting rapid analysis of biological samples from patients suspected of being intoxicated is reported. The method is based on: a) extraction of the active principles of biological samples with chloroform; b) drying and preparation of a disc of KBr; c) spectrophotometric analysis; d) integration of data from laboratory analyses with the clinical data from the patient. A number of clinical cases are also reported in which adoption of the method permitted rapid diagnosis of the possible aetiology of the toxic pictures observed.