Forensic alcohol calculations in individuals under the age of 18.

Alcohol calculations are carried out in many forensic case types. On occasion, individuals under the age of 18 are involved, and alcohol calculations may be beneficial. To date, there are no studies that have determined the best way to estimate total body water (TBW) or alcohol elimination rates in juveniles for alcohol calculations.

Accuracy of substance exposure history in patients attending emergency departments after substance misuse; a comparison with biological sample analysis.

Context: Acute toxicity caused by illicit substance use is a common reason for emergency department (ED) presentation. Knowledge of the substances involved is helpful for predicting and managing potential toxicity, but limited information is available about the accuracy of patient-reported substance exposure. This study assessed the accuracy of the history of exposure in those reporting use of a single substance by comparison with those identified by detailed toxicological analysis, focusing on synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRA).

Trends in hospital presentations following analytically confirmed synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist exposure before and after implementation of the 2016 UK Psychoactive Substances Act.

Background And Aims: The United Kingdom (UK) Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA), implemented on the 26  May 2016, made the production, supply and sale of all non-exempted psychoactive substances illegal. The aim of this study was to measure trends in hospital presentations for severe toxicity following analytically confirmed synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist (SCRA) exposure before and after implementation of the PSA.

Design: Observational study.

Measurement uncertainty in quantifying delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in blood using SPE and LC/MS/MS.

A method for the quantitative analysis of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the main active ingredient of cannabis) in whole blood using solid phase extraction and LC/MS/MS has been developed. A bottom-up approach with method validation data was used to evaluate and estimate the measurement uncertainty (MU) of the analytical method. The sources of uncertainty were identified using a cause and effect diagram.

Acute toxicity following analytically confirmed use of the novel psychoactive substance (NPS) methiopropamine. A report from the Identification of Novel psychoActive substances (IONA) study.

Use of the New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) methiopropamine was first reported in 2011, but there are limited data on its acute toxicity. We report 11 patients presenting with analytically confirmed methiopropamine use. Adults presenting to 26 hospitals in the UK with severe acute toxicity after suspected NPS use were recruited from March 2015 to April 2018.