Risk of severe driver injury by driving with psychoactive substances.

Driving with alcohol and other psychoactive substances imposes an increased risk of severe injury accidents. In a population-based case-control design, the relative risks of severe driver injury (MAIS≥2) by driving with ten substance groups were approximated by odds ratios (alcohol, amphetamines, benzoylecgonine, cocaine, cannabis, illicit opiates, benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, i.e.

Psychoactive substances in seriously injured drivers in Denmark.

This study assesses the presence of a number of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, based on blood samples from 840 seriously injured drivers admitted to five selected hospitals located in five different regions of Denmark. The study was a part of the EU 6th framework program DRUID (Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines). Blood samples were screened for 30 illegal and legal psychoactive substances and metabolites as well as ethanol.

Presence of psychoactive substances in oral fluid from randomly selected drivers in Denmark.

This roadside study is the Danish part of the EU-project DRUID (Driving under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol, and Medicines) and included three representative regions in Denmark. Oral fluid samples (n=3002) were collected randomly from drivers using a sampling scheme stratified by time, season, and road type. The oral fluid samples were screened for 29 illegal and legal psychoactive substances and metabolites as well as ethanol.

Drugs related to motor vehicle crashes in northern European countries: a study of fatally injured drivers.

The aim of this study was to find which drugs and drug combinations were most common in drivers who died, in particular, in single vehicle crashes where the responsibility for the crash would be referred to the driver killed. The study included all available blood samples from drivers, who died within 24h of the accident, in the years 2001 and 2002 in the five Nordic countries (total population about 24 million inhabitants). The samples were analysed for more than 200 different drugs in addition to alcohol, using a similar analytical programme and cut-off limits in all countries.

Screening and quantitative determination of twelve acidic and neutral pharmaceuticals in whole blood by liquid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

We describe a multi-method for simultaneous identification and quantification of 12 acidic and neutral compounds in whole blood. The method involves a simple liquid-liquid extraction, and the identification and quantification are performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method was fully validated for salicylic acid, paracetamol, phenobarbital, carisoprodol, meprobamate, topiramate, etodolac, chlorzoxazone, furosemide, ibuprofen, warfarin, and salicylamide.