Application of the Cozart DDS system to postmortem screening of drugs of abuse in vitreous humor
Thursday, April 30th, 2009This study evaluated the use of Cozart
DDS for postmortem screening of some drugs of abuse in vitreous humor (VH) prior to forensic autopsies. The Cozart DDS is
an on-site drug detection system that has been validated for oral fluid. Seventy-one VH specimens were obtained from cadavers.
Causes of death included injury, drug poisoning, natural disorders, and traffic accidents. The samples were tested for cannabis,
cocaine, opiate, amphetamine, and methamphetamine. Thirty-three of 71 samples were positive for drugs of abuse (42% for cocaine,
28% for cannabis, 26% for opiates, and 3% for methamphetamine). The positive specimens for opiates and methamphetamine were
reexamined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS); benzoylecgonine (cocaine product) was detected by liquid chromat...
