Drug use in motor vehicle drivers presenting to an Australian, adult major trauma centre.

Objectives: To determine the drug use in injured Victorian drivers involved in motor vehicle collisions and subsequently transported to a major adult trauma centre in Victoria.

Methods: A blood sample was obtained from patients who had been taken to The Alfred Emergency & Trauma Centre (Prahran, Vic., Australia) following a motor vehicle collision.

Exposure to inorganic arsenic in soil increases urinary inorganic arsenic concentrations of residents living in old mining areas.

The short term human exposure studies conducted on populations exposed to high concentrations of inorganic arsenic in soil have been inconsistent in demonstrating a relationship between environmental concentrations and exposure measures. In Australia there are many areas with very high arsenic concentrations in residential soil most typically associated with gold mining activities in rural areas. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between environmental arsenic and urinary inorganic arsenic concentrations in a population living in a gold mining area (soil arsenic concentrations between 9 and 9900 mg kg(-1)), and a control population with low arsenic levels in soil (between 1 and 80 mg kg(-1)).

The involvement of drugs in drivers of motor vehicles killed in Australian road traffic crashes.

A multi-center case-control study was conducted on 3398 fatally-injured drivers to assess the effect of alcohol and drug use on the likelihood of them being culpable. Crashes investigated were from three Australian states (Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia). The control group of drug- and alcohol-free drivers comprised 50.

Risk factors for increased urinary inorganic arsenic concentrations from low arsenic concentrations in drinking water.

A large number of drinking water supplies worldwide have greater than 50 microg l(- 1) inorganic arsenic in drinking water, and there is increasing pressure to reduce concentrations. Few studies have specifically considered low concentrations of arsenic in water supplies and the significance of other factors which may contribute to increased exposure. This study aimed to investigate risk factors for increased urinary inorganic arsenic concentrations, in a population exposed to 10 - 100 microg l(- 1) of arsenic in drinking water, as well as a control population with lower arsenic concentrations in their drinking water.

The incidence of drugs in drivers killed in Australian road traffic crashes.

The incidence of alcohol and drugs in fatally injured drivers were determined in three Australian states; Victoria (VIC), New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australia (WA) for the period of 1990-1999. A total of 3398 driver fatalities were investigated which included 2609 car drivers, 650 motorcyclists and 139 truck drivers. Alcohol at or over 0.

Hair and toenail arsenic concentrations of residents living in areas with high environmental arsenic concentrations.

Surface soil and groundwater in Australia have been found to contain high concentrations of arsenic. The relative importance of long-term human exposure to these sources has not been established. Several studies have investigated long-term exposure to environmental arsenic concentrations using hair and toenails as the measure of exposure.

Are 24-hour urine samples and creatinine adjustment required for analysis of inorganic arsenic in urine in population studies?

Compliance with 24-h urine samples can be low in population-based studies and first morning void urine samples are often collected for convenience. Interpretation of arsenic concentrations in urine is influenced by a range of factors unrelated to exposure. To reduce the influence of such factors, creatinine adjustment is routinely used.

Postmortem drug analysis: analytical and toxicological aspects.

Publications focusing on the analysis of postmortem specimens for the presence of drugs were reviewed with particular reference to systematic toxicological analysis. Specimens included blood, liver, other solid specimens, and fly larvae. Extraction techniques published during the past 10 years most commonly used traditional solvent extraction techniques.