Problems of Forensic Sciences 2004 Vol. 57 (LVII) 100-112
DIAGNOSTIC EXAMINATIONS IN THE CASE OF A DEADLY POISONING WITH CARBON MONOXIDE OF A PERSON UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ZOPICLONE
Małgorzata ALBERT, Rafał CELIŃSKI, Artur SOJA, Joanna KULIKOWSKA, Zofia OLSZOWY, Halina SYBIRSKA
Chair and Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice
Streszczenie
In this paper, the results of chemo-toxicological examinations of post-mortem material taken from a man who committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning after earlier taking zopiclone are presented. The source of the carbon monoxide was exhaust fumes from a car in a closed garage. Tests carried out revealed not only a small amount of the medicine in its unchanged form (90 ng/ml in blood), but also its metabolite, N-dimethyl-zopiclone, which, as the dominant form in biological extracts, can constitute the main marker of drug intake in toxicological screening analyses.
Słowa kluczowe
Zopiclone; Determination; Post-mortem material.