Relationship between betahydroxybutyrate (BHB) and acetone concentrations in postmortem blood and cause of death.

Unexpected death caused by diabetic or alcoholic ketoacidosis is easily overlooked due to the non-specific symptoms. Although the acid betahydroxybutyrate (BHB) is the most abundant ketone body formed in conditions with ketoacidosis, routine analysis in postmortem investigations often only includes the neutral ketone body acetone. This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of implementing routine BHB analysis in postmortem cases, by investigating the relationship between BHB and acetone concentrations in postmortem blood and the main cause of death.

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) detected in abnormally high concentrations in postmortem blood and urine from two persons found dead inside a car containing a gasoline spill.

Two deep frozen persons, a female and a male, were found dead in a car. There had been an explosive fire inside the car which had extinguished itself. On the floor inside the car were large pools of liquid which smelled of gasoline.

[Intoxation with paramethoxymethamphetamine].

Background: Since the summer of 2010, there has been an epidemic of deaths related to paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) in Norway. We present a review of the pharmacology and toxicology of the substance.

Material And Method: The review is based on a literature search in the databases PubMed, Ovid and MEDLINE.