Loperamide positive deaths in Sweden 2012–2022 and Finland 2017–2022: Fatal loperamide intoxication exclusively for Sweden

Abstract

Loperamide, a potent μ-opioid receptor agonist used as an antidiarrheal drug, exhibits increased bioavailability at supratherapeutic doses, causing potential central nervous system effects. Its misuse for opioid withdrawal relief and euphoria can lead to dangerously elevated blood levels, causing severe cardiac dysrhythmias and death. This study aimed to compare loperamide positive autopsy cases in Sweden and Finland after the introduction of postmortem toxicological analysis of loperamide, focusing on loperamide’s role in fatalities and identifying common characteristics among those affected. All cases with detected loperamide in femoral blood at forensic autopsies in Sweden (2012–2022) and Finland (2017–2022) were included. In Sweden, loperamide was detected in 126 individuals, and in Finland, in 111 individuals. The incidence of individuals positive for loperamide in postmortem femoral blood increased steadily over the study duration in both Sweden and Finland. Loperamide related fatalities were observed exclusively in Sweden (n=80), predominantly involving younger males with histories of substance abuse, typically classified as accidental deaths. The group of loperamide nonrelated deaths in Sweden mirrored the entirety of cases in Finland. The concentration of loperamide in postmortem femoral blood was significantly higher in cases where loperamide was considered the cause of death (median 0.140 μg/g) compared to cases where loperamide contributed (median 0.080 μg/g), as well as in deaths unrelated to loperamide in both countries (Sweden: median 0.029 μg/g; Finland: median 0.010 μg/ml). The high limit of quantification for loperamide in Sweden may underestimate therapeutic users in epidemiological assessments. This study underscores the absence of loperamide misuse in Finland and indicates a rising trend of loperamide abuse in Sweden.