Fat embolism and COVID-19 infection: autopsy and post-mortem laboratory findings in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients.

Introduction: The article is one of the very first autopsy reports worldwide, which associates COVID-19 infection and pulmonary fat embolism.

Aims: To point to a crucial connection between a severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and pulmonary fat embolism as one of the possible major mechanisms of severe COVID-19 symptoms.

Methods: Lung, brain and kidney tissues examination of 16 full human autopsy cases.

Acute drug intoxication in childhood: a 10-year retrospective observational single-centre study and case reports.

Background: Medication poisoning in children is a severe condition that can endanger a child's life. Although drug intoxications are easily preventable, awareness of the proper handling of drugs and their safe storage out of the reach of children is not widespread among the general public. In this work, we investigated the demographic and clinical data of children admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of the University Hospital Olomouc for acute drug-induced intoxication.

Targeting the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor with Microbial Metabolite Mimics Alleviates Experimental Colitis in Mice.

Targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is an emerging therapeutic strategy for multiple diseases (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease).

A synergy of liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry and coagulation test for determination of direct oral anticoagulants for clinical and toxicological purposes.

Direct oral anticoagulants are an alternative to anticoagulants based on vitamin K antagonists. Monitoring of direct oral anticoagulant concentration levels is necessary in specific cases (e.g.

Acute medication poisoning causing hospital admissions in childhood: a 3-year prospective observational single-center study.

Although the risks of medication poisoning in children are often reported, there is a lack of studies addressing this issue. The majority of papers deal with a wide range of xenobiotics poisoning and, in particular, alcohol intoxications. All hospital admissions during three years were prospectively recorded.

Manner of Death of Older People with Regard to Blood Alcohol Concentration.

Objective: Alcohol abuse is related to a wide variety of negative health outcomes including mortality in older people. Alcohol abuse in older people is characterised by certain specific features uncommon in general adult population. The main objective of this study was to analyse the autopsy protocols of deceased older people in relation to blood alcohol concentration (BAC), sex, age, and manner of death.

Simultaneous determination of designer benzodiazepines in human serum using non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis - Tandem mass spectrometry with successive multiple ionic - Polymer layer coated capillary.

A novel non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis - tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous separation, identification and quantification of nine designer benzodiazepines (bentazepam, etizolam, deschloroetizolam, diclazepam, flubromazepam, flubromazolam, nimetazepam, phenazepam, and pyrazolam) was developed. A non-aqueous running electrolyte consisting of 25mM ammonium acetate with 100mM trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile was used. The separation was carried out using a semipermanent coated capillary (successive multiple ionic-polymer coating) with a strong anodic electroosmotic flow at a negative separation voltage within twelve minutes.

Heart rate is a useful marker of adherence to beta-blocker treatment in hypertension.

Objectives: Suboptimal medication adherence is common among patients with hypertension. Measurements of plasma or urinary levels of antihypertensive drugs are useful, but not widely available. The aim of our study was to investigate the relation of patients' heart rates to their serum beta-blocker levels.

Analysis of selected designer benzodiazepines by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the estimation of their partition coefficients by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

A new ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization time of flight mass spectrometry method for the selective and sensitive separation, identification, and determination of selected designer benzodiazepines (namely, pyrazolam, phenazepam, etizolam, flubromazepam, diclazepam, deschloroetizolam, bentazepam, nimetazepam, and flubromazolam) in human serum was developed. The separation of the studied designer benzodiazepines was achieved on C chromatographic column using gradient elution within 6 min without any significant matrix interferences. Liquid-liquid extraction with butyl acetate was applied for serum samples cleanup and preconcentration of studied designer benzodiazepines.

Copper nanowire coated carbon fibers as efficient substrates for detecting designer drugs using SERS.

Miniature Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) sensors were fabricated by coating the carbon fiber microelectrodes with copper nanowires. The coating procedure, based on anodizing the copper wire in ultrapure water followed by cathodic deposition of the anode-derived material onto carbon fiber electrodes, provides a "clean" copper nanowire network. The developed miniature (10µm in diameter and 2mm in length) and nanoscopically rough SERS substrates are applicable in drug sensing, as shown by the detection and resolving of a range of seized designer drugs in trace amounts (microliter volumes of 10-10M solutions).

Fast and sensitive analysis of beta blockers by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultra-high-resolution TOF mass spectrometry.

This paper presents a method for the determination of acebutolol, betaxolol, bisoprolol, metoprolol, nebivolol and sotalol in human serum by liquid-liquid extraction and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultra-high-resolution TOF mass spectrometry. After liquid-liquid extraction, beta blockers were separated on a reverse-phase analytical column (Acclaim RS 120; 100 × 2.1 mm, 2.

Multi-drug intoxication fatality involving atorvastatin: A case report.

Mixed antihypertensive drug intoxication poses a significant risk for patient mortality. In tandem to antihypertensives, hypolipidemic medicines (especially statins) are often prescribed. Among their well-known adverse effects belongs rhabdomyolysis.

Analysis of Amphetamine-Derived Designer Drugs by Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry.

The 22 amphetamine-derived synthetic drugs (ADSDs), mostly cathinones, were examined by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry using two different derivatization methods with (i) heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA) and (ii) pentafluorobenzoyl chloride (PFBCl). Both developed derivatization approaches were evaluated and compared for urine and serum samples. Extraction procedures proved to give satisfactory results with regard to recoveries and extract purity, even though both derivatization methods reached acceptable sensitivity for the intended use.

[Gastric lavage after peroral intoxication--controversial views].

Gastric lavage after ingestion of excessive amounts of a drug/poison--yes or no? If yes, at what time intervals from ingestion? On one side stand some authors who emphasize the complications, contraindications, and low yield of this procedure. These authors recommended that gastric lavage should be performed only within 30-60 minutes after ingestion of toxic doses of a drug/poison. Later lavage usually has no clinical benefit.

Simultaneous determination of mushroom toxins α-amanitin, β-amanitin and muscarine in human urine by solid-phase extraction and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultra-high-resolution TOF mass spectrometry.

This paper presents a method for the simultaneous determination of α-amanitin, β-amanitin and muscarine in human urine by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultra-high-resolution TOF mass spectrometry. The method can be used for a diagnostics of mushroom poisonings. Different SPE cartridges were tested for sample preparation, namely hydrophilic modified reversed-phase (Oasis HLB) and polymeric weak cation phase (Strata X-CW).

Determination and identification of synthetic cannabinoids and their metabolites in different matrices by modern analytical techniques - a review.

Synthetic cannabinoids have gained popularity due to their easy accessibility and psychoactive effects. Furthermore, they cannot be detected in urine by routine drug monitoring. The wide range of active ingredients in analyzed matrices hinders the development of a standard analytical method for their determination.

Utilization of micellar electrokinetic chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry employed volatile micellar phase in the analysis of cathinone designer drugs.

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography method with tandem mass spectrometry has been developed for the selective separation, identification and determination of twelve new designer drugs from the group of synthetic cathinones. Ammonium salt of perfluorooctanoic acid at various concentrations as a volatile background electrolyte (BGE) to create micellar phase was studied for separation of selected synthetic cathinones with direct tandem mass spectrometry without significant loss of detection sensitivity. The optimized BGE contained 100 mM perfluorooctanoic acid with 200 mM ammonium hydroxide providing acceptable resolution of studied drugs in the MEKC step.

Determination of mushroom toxins ibotenic acid, muscimol and muscarine by capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

The CE-ESI-MS/MS method for the identification, separation and determination of mushroom toxins, namely ibotenic acid, muscimol and muscarine, was developed. It proved to be sensitive and thus useful for the real sample analysis with omitting the labor and time consuming pretreatment step. The CE-ESI-MS/MS method was applied on the spiked human urine.

Determination of muscarine in human urine by electrospray liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric.

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based method for determination of muscarine in human urine was developed and validated. The method involved a solid phase extraction of muscarine from urine using Strata X-CW column. Separation of muscarine was achieved within 16.

GC/MS determination of ibotenic acid and muscimol in the urine of patients intoxicated with Amanita pantherina.

Ibotenic acid and muscimol are substances which mostly participate in psychotropic properties of Amanita pantherina and Amanita muscaria. They are rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and readily excreted in urine. The poisoning with A.

[The correlation of results of breath analysers and laboratory blood examinations of blood-ethanol concentration (Czech and Slovak study)].

The target of this study was to compare the results of breath analysers and "lege artis" laboratory blood examinations when determining alcohol levels. This was then used to determine whether any differences exist between the two methods, and how large these differences are. 610 cases from 11 workplaces in the Czech Republic and Slovakia were analysed.

Isolation and identification of the Amanita muscaria and Amanita pantherina toxins in human urine.

Objectives: Ibotenic acid, muscimol and muscarine were recognized as responsible for psychotropic effects of A. muscaria and A. pantherina.

Detection and determination of abused hallucinogens in biological material.

Objectives: Until recently, routine toxicological analysis of some hallucinogens in biological material posed problems which were only resolved after the introduction of modern analytic systems into toxicological laboratories. The most frequent hallucinogens in clinical and forensic toxicology can be grouped as: cannabinoids, tropane alkaloids, N,N-dimethyltryptamine derivatives and synthetic or semisynthetic hallucinogens.

Methods & Results: There are several methods currently used for their analysis.

Possibilities and problems with identification and determination of "new" hypnotics.

Authors discuss problems with identification and determination of flunitrazepam and zolpidem in biological material (BM). Over the recent years, these two structurally different substances have become the most frequently used as well as abused hypnotic drugs. This study presents applicability of immunochemical methods in the screening of flunitrazepam, one of the most commonly prescribed drugs among the benzodiazepines.