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.

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.

The frequency of drugs among Danish drivers before and after the introduction of fixed concentration limits.

Objective: Until July 2007, the driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) legislation in Denmark was based on impairment, evaluated on the basis of a clinical investigation and toxicological analyses, but in 2007 fixed concentration limits were introduced into the Danish traffic legislation. The objective for this study was to investigate the prevalence of medication and illicit drugs among Danish drivers before and after 2007.

Methods: Blood samples from drivers suspected of being under the influence of medication and/or illicit drugs were investigated as requested by the police.

A validated method for simultaneous screening and quantification of twenty-three benzodiazepines and metabolites plus zopiclone and zaleplone in whole blood by liquid-liquid extraction and ultra-performance liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry.

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS-MS) method for detection of 23 benzodiazepines and related compounds in whole blood was developed and validated. The method is used for screening and quantitation of benzodiazepines in whole blood received from autopsy cases and living persons. The detected compounds were alprazolam, bromazepam, brotizolam, chlordiazepoxide, demoxepam, clobazam, clonazepam, 7-aminoclonazepam, diazepam, nordiazepam, estazolam, flunitrazepam, 7-aminoflunitrazepam, lorazepam, lormetazepam, midazolam, nitrazepam, 7-aminonitrazepam, oxazepam, temazepam, triazolam, zaleplon, and zopiclone.

Simultaneous screening and quantification of 29 drugs of abuse in oral fluid by solid-phase extraction and ultraperformance LC-MS/MS.

Background: The European DRUID (Driving under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol And Medicines) project calls for analysis of oral fluid (OF) samples, collected randomly and anonymously at the roadside from drivers in Denmark throughout 2008-2009. To analyze these samples we developed an ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for detection of 29 drugs and illicit compounds in OF. The drugs detected were opioids, amphetamines, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Blood concentrations of clonazepam and 7-aminoclonazepam in forensic cases in Denmark for the period 2002-2007.

The benzodiazepine clonazepam is a prescription drug used to treat epilepsy and anxiety. In addition, it is frequently used to treat drug addicts and is itself a popular drug of abuse. In this study, we report the incidence and blood concentrations of clonazepam and its metabolite 7-aminoclonazepam in cases referred to the Section of Forensic Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen in 2002-2007.

[Deaths among drug addicts in Eastern Denmark 2005].

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate deaths among drug addicts in Eastern Denmark in 2005, partly fatal poisonings, partly deaths where the cause of death not was a poisoning and to compare the results with those reported in studies from 1991, 1997 and 2002.

Material And Methods: All deaths among drug addicts investigated at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen.

Results: The number of deaths among drug addicts was 160 of which 64% were due to fatal poisoning.

[Drugs and driving].

In recent years, the problem of driving under the influence of drugs of abuse (DUID) has been subject to increased focus. Several European countries have introduced "zero tolerance" legislation regarding drugs of abuse in traffic. Denmark is currently preparing similar legislation.

An oxcarbazepine-related fatality with an overview of 26 oxcarbazepine postmortem cases.

We present an oxcarbazepine-related fatality together with an overview of 26 postmortem cases involving oxcarbazepine observed during the period 2001-2006. The fatality case concerned a 27-year-old woman with epilepsy, who was found dead in her bed. Oxcarbazepine and its active metabolite, 10-hydroxycarbazepine, were the only compounds detected.

[Fatal cases of poisoning in eastern Denmark during a five-year period (1998-2002)].

Introduction: The goal of this investigation was to determine the pattern of fatal poisonings in eastern Denmark from 1998 to 2002 and compare it with similar investigations from 1979 to 1996.

Materials And Methods: The material included 2,996 autopsies from eastern Denmark in which extensive forensic chemical investigations were performed.

Results: Of the 2,996 autopsies, 694 cases were drug addicts, in whom 497 fatal overdoses were detected, while in the remaining 2,302 cases of nonaddicts, 443 fatal poisonings were determined.

Medicinal and illegal drugs among Danish car drivers.

The objective of this study was to get an insight into the prevalence of medicinal and illegal drugs among car drivers in a Danish rural area. The police randomly stopped about 1000 car drivers and asked them to deliver a saliva sample and gave them a questionnaire to fill in at home. Laboratory analyses by specific methods of samples, which a screening found positive, confirmed that 2% were positive for benzodiazepines or illegal drugs (amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine or opiates): 1.