Abstract
Forensic toxicologists often detect lidocaine in the biological fluids of the deceased, due to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) attempts prior to death. Here, we describe the development of a rapid, sensitive and robust method for the detection of lidocaine in postmortem whole blood using liquid−liquid extraction (LLE) followed by GC/MS analysis. The method showed a dynamic linear range of 100 to 6000 ng/mL with a linearity expressed by the regression coefficient (R2) and a value of 0.9947. The quantitation limit (LOQ) was found to be 0.03 ng/mL and the detection limit (LOD) 0.01 ng/mL. Recovery accuracy and repeatability were satisfactory. Finally, the method was applied to 23 real whole blood samples from cases where CPR was attempted. Blood concentrations ranged from 0.21–0.96 μg/mL.
Highlights
Lidocaine is a drug commonly used as a local anesthetic and as a first class antiarrhythmic reagent [1], when given by intravenous injection
In forensic toxicology, lidocaine is frequently detected in the biological fluids of the deceased; circumstances suggest that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted prior to death and lidocaine-containing lubricant gel during bladder catheterization was used
The aim of the present study was to develop a method for the detection of lidocaine
Summary
Lidocaine is a drug commonly used as a local anesthetic and as a first class antiarrhythmic reagent [1], when given by intravenous injection. Absorption of lidocaine into the blood [3,4] and tissues [5,6,7,8] may be observed whilst it can be further metabolized to monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX), an active metabolite which has 83% of the antiarrhythmic activity and 129% of the convulsant activity of lidocaine [9] (Figure 1). Metabolism occurs via N-dealkylation, hydroxylation, amide hydrolysis and glucuronide formation mainly in the liver, whilst only 3% of the parent drug is eliminated unchanged in urine. As stated by Benowitz et al [10]: “Pharmacokinetic studies in man show wide variability in drug disposition between patients, even when cardiac and hepatic status is considered, making specific dosing recommendations a problem”, the development of a method for the determination of lidocaine in the biological fluids of the deceased is crucial for the accurate interpretation of the toxicological results
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