Poppy Seed Consumption or Opiate Use: The Determination of Thebaine and Opiates of Abuse in Postmortem Fluids and Tissues

Opiates are some of the most widely prescribed drugs in America. Some opiate compounds are highly addictive and are often abused. Opiate abuse transcends all social, racial, and economic boundaries. Demonstrating the presence or absence of opiate compounds in postmortem fluids and/or tissues derived from fatal civil aviation accidents can have serious legal consequences and may help determine the cause of impairment and/or death. However, the consumption of poppy seed products can result in a positive opiate drug test. Therefore, the interpretation of positive opiate results must be viewed with caution. The authors have developed a simple method for the simultaneous determination of 8 opiate compounds from one extraction. These compounds are hydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, codeine, oxycodone, hydromorphone, 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine, and thebaine. The inclusion of thebaine is notable as it is an indicator of poppy seed consumption and may help explain morphine/codeine positives in cases where no opiate use was indicated. This method incorporates a Zymark (Registered trademark) RapidTrace (Trademark) automated solid-phase extraction system, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and trimethyl silane (TMS) and oxime-TMS derivatives. The limits of detection ranged from 0.78-12.5 ng/mL. The linear dynamic range for most analytes was 6.25-1600 ng/mL. The extraction efficiencies ranged from 70-103%. The authors applied this method to 8 separate aviation fatalities where opiate compounds had previously been detected. The specimens analyzed for the determination of these 8 opiate compounds were blood, urine, liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle. This method has proven to be simple, robust, and accurate for the simultaneous determination of 8 opiate compounds in postmortem fluids and tissues.

• Record URL:
  http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/2000s/media/0511.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

  6500 South MacArthur Boulevard
  Oklahoma City, OK  United States  73128

  University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond

  100 North University Drive
  Edmond, OK  United States  73034

  Federal Aviation Administration

  Office of Aerospace Medicine, 800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Authors:
  • Johnson, Robert D
  • Lewis, Russell J
  • Hattrup, Rachael A
• Publication Date: 2005-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 14p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air transportation crashes; Crash causes; Crash investigation; Drug abuse; Fatalities; Forensic medicine
• Uncontrolled Terms: Opiates; Postmortem
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01002276
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT/FAA/AM-05/11
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 19 2005 10:32AM