Rapid gas chromatographic analysis of drugs of forensic interest.
(9/995)
High-speed gas chromatographic (GC) screening for drugs of forensic relevance is performed using a commercial Flash GC instrument in which the chromatographic column is resistively heated at rates of up to 30 degrees C/s. Temperature programming conditions are varied in an experiment designed to evaluate trade-offs between resolution and analysis time for a mixture of 19 drugs of abuse. All 19 components can be separated with excellent resolution in 90 s. Specific analytes can be analyzed even faster; for example, amphetamine analysis is completed in less than 20 s. Case studies of confiscated street drugs containing amphetamine, cocaine, and heroin are analyzed to evaluate the retention time repeatability. Ten replicate injections over a 2-day period for 3 different drug samples achieved retention time relative standard deviations in the range of 0.48 to 0.81%. (+info)
Association between educational level and health related quality of life in Spanish adults.
(10/995)
OBJECTIVE: To analyse differences in health by educational level in Spanish adults by comparing the health dimensions of the SF-36 Heath Survey. DESIGN: Data were taken from the National Survey on Drug Use carried out in February 1996. The information was collected by home personal interview. In addition to measuring the use of legal and illegal drugs and their associated health risks, the health status of the Spanish population was analysed using the Spanish version of the SF-36 Health Survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Absolute and standardised differences between mean score on each dimension of the SF-36 Health Survey in each educational group with respect to the group with the highest educational level. RESULTS: Perceived health status declines with decreasing educational level, except in women with second level education who have a higher mean rating than women with third level education on various health dimensions. The absolute differences in perceived health between the different categories of educational level and the reference category become larger with increasing age. The greatest differences by educational level in both men and women were found in mental health and general health among persons 25 to 44 years of age, and in physical function and general health among those 45 to 64 years. In persons aged 65 or older, the greatest differences are seen in physical function and vitality in men, and in bodily pain and emotional role in women. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of educational level on the different dimensions of perceived health may vary by sex. (+info)
Benzodiazepines in Miami-Dade County, Florida driving under the influence (DUI) cases (1995-1998) with emphasis on Rohypnol: GC-MS confirmation, patterns of use, psychomotor impairment, and results of Florida legislation.
(11/995)
Benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressant drugs often detected in biological samples from driving under the influence (DUI) offenders. They are associated with marked psychomotor impairment and represent up to 20% of all Miami-Dade County, Florida DUI urine samples analyzed in our laboratory annually. Flunitrazepam emerged in the mid-1990s as an illegal drug in the U.S. that was predominantly abused recreationally and associated with sexual assaults. Immunoassays for benzodiazepines do not discriminate between different benzodiazepines, and certain metabolites, such as 7-aminoflunitrazepam, react poorly with immunoassay reagents. A simple and sensitive method for the detection and quantitation of major benzodiazepines and metabolites by gas chromatography with mass selective detection is presented. This method was used to confirm benzodiazepines in general and flunitrazepam in particular. Data collected over a three-and-a-half-year period are summarized. Whereas flunitrazepam was present in up to 10% of DUI cases in 1995 and 1996 and had fast become the most frequently encountered benzodiazepine in Miami-Dade County DUI-related urine samples, a dramatic drop in case numbers followed the legal reclassification of the drug as a Schedule I substance in Florida in February 1997. Flunitrazepam was often used alone or in combination with cannabis and cocaine. A recent rise in clonazepam cases coincides with the decrease in flunitrazepam confirmation and may indicate a new trend in the abuse of benzodiazepines in South Florida. (+info)
Long-term stability of abused drugs and antiabuse chemotherapeutical agents stored at -20 degrees C.
(12/995)
Stability is an important consideration in the use of specimens for accurate determination of analyte concentrations. To determine the long-term stability for analytes routinely analyzed by mass spectrometry in this laboratory, quality-control (QC) results were plotted versus time. The time required for the initial concentration to reach a specified level of deviation (i.e., 15%) was then determined from the slopes. QCs were prepared at 1-3 concentrations in drug-free matrix and stored at approximately -20 degrees C; urines were fortified with 1% sodium fluoride; plasmas (except for cocaines) were prepared with heparin. For cocaine and metabolites, the plasma was either fortified with 2% sodium fluoride or with 2% sodium fluoride and 1 mg% physostigmine after adjustment of the plasma pH to 6.0. In urine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, codeine, morphine, benzoylecgonine (BZE), and 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCA) slopes did not exceed a 15% deviation before 852 days. Cocaine, however, reached a 15% reduction at 165 days. When cocaine and BZE were prepared in plasma with just 2% sodium fluoride, negative slopes reached 15% deviation within 154 and 111 days, respectively. Further fortification with physostigmide and adjustment of the pH extended this time frame significantly. Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and THCA in plasma had negative slopes that deviated by 15% just prior to one year. l-Alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM), methadone, and their N-demethylated metabolites in urine did not have any negative slopes exceeding 15% before 686 days. Several of the compounds had positive slopes. Those for 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine reached the 15% mark within 98 days. Those for LAAM, norLAAM, and dinorLAAM were concentration dependent. The 25-ng/mL controls reached 15% at 158-216 days. The 700-ng/mL controls reached 15% at 784-1340 days. In plasma, only naltrexone and buprenorphine displayed negative slopes at all three concentrations, reaching the 15% mark as early as 576 and 272 days, respectively. LAAM, norLAAM, dinorLAAM, ibogaine, 6-beta-naltrexone, risperidone, and 9-OH-risperidone did not exceed a 15% deviation before 416 days. To attempt to validate this method, two sets of clinical plasma samples that had been analyzed for buprenorphine were reanalyzed 644 and 869 days after the initial analyses. Those reanalyzed after 644 days were not statistically different from initial analyses, whereas those stored for 869 days were statistically different (p < 0.05). As the average time to reach 15% deviation for the three concentrations of buprenorphine QCs was 782 days, this suggests that extrapolation of QC results gathered over time may provide a reliable method to estimate long-term stability limits for drugs stored under the same conditions as the QC samples. (+info)
Substance misuse in acute general medical admissions.
(13/995)
We conducted a prevalence study of current substance misuse amongst acute general medical admissions, and compared the sociodemographic profile of this group of patients with total admissions and the local catchment population. Patients were included in the study if they were resident in the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham (LSL) Health Commission catchment area and were aged between 18 and 85 years. The prevalence of non-dependent misuse was of particular interest. Of 2988 acute admissions, 609 (20%) were identified as misusing alcohol and/or drugs, 277 (9%) being identified by the admitting doctor and 332 (11%) being identified by means of a Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire (HLQ) which included the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The majority 437 (72%) of the identified patients had an alcohol problem. A smaller proportion, 116 (19%) were currently using illegal drugs and 56 (9%) were polydrug users. Compared with patients who misused either drugs or alcohol, alcohol misusers were more likely to be older and Irish, whereas users of illegal drugs were more likely to be younger and Black. Significantly more 'at risk' drinkers were identified by the AUDIT questionnaire than by the admitting doctor. This study supports the policy of routine screening for health-damaging behaviours and the implementation of health promotion strategies in general hospitals. (+info)
Truancy and perceived school performance: an alcohol and drug study of UK teenagers.
(14/995)
This study is based on a subsample of 15- and 16-year-old school students from the UK, part of the European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). Information was available on truancy rates, perceived school performance, family structure, lifestyle, and usage of alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs in 6409 teenagers. Living in a single-parent family, lack of constructive hobbies, presence of psychiatric symptoms, and an aggressive outgoing delinquent lifestyle bore the strongest associations to truancy and to perceived school performance. There were also strong relationships between both these last two variables and use of alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit drugs. However, the effects of alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit drugs were largely accounted for by other variables. Having at least one parent who both supported the respondent and who exercised some control was predictive of better perceived school performance. (+info)
Drugs for a new millennium.
(15/995)
A millennium, a century, even a decade is a long time-frame for speculation about anything. Advances in biomedical research in the last few decades have been so extraordinary and escalating at an ever-accelerating pace that any prophecy is a risky proposition. However, it is possible to divine the big, unanswered questions and envisage ways in which they might reasonably be approached in the next few decades, a task which I will try to essay. So many drugs treat so many different medical conditions that a detailed and comprehensive coverage would probably be tiresome. Instead, I will address certain broad themes and diseases that offer both immense challenges and great potential for advances. Rather than review detailed experimental issues, I will confine myself to the 'big picture' issues, providing examples of specific research only in a few instances drawing largely from areas I know best. (+info)
Association between illegal drugs and weapon carrying in young people in Scotland: schools' survey.
(16/995)
OBJECTIVES: To identify the type and extent of weapons being carried among young people in Scotland, and to determine the relation between use of illegal drugs and weapon carrying. DESIGN: Questionnaire school survey. SETTING: Independent schools in central Scotland and schools in Lanarkshire and Perth and Kinross. PARTICIPANTS: 3121 students aged 11 to 16 in 20 schools. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self completion questionnaire reporting history of drug use and weapon carrying. RESULTS: Overall, 34.1% of males and 8. 6% of females reported having carried a weapon (P<0.0001), ranging from 29.2% of boys aged 11-13 (classes S1 to S2) to 39.3% of boys aged 13-15 (S3 to S4). These values are higher than those in a recent survey of young people in England. Weapon carrying in Lanarkshire was 70% higher for males than in the rural area of Perth and Kinross. Both males and females who had taken drugs were more likely to carry weapons (63.5% of male drug users versus 20.5% of non-users and 22.8% of female drug users versus 3.7% of non-users; both P<0.0001). The proportions of males carrying weapons who used none, one, two, three or four, or five or more illegal drugs were 21%, 52%, 68%, 74%, and 92% respectively. A similar trend was found among females. CONCLUSIONS: Better information is needed on the nature and extent of weapon carrying by young people in the United Kingdom, and better educational campaigns are needed warning of the dangers of carrying weapons. (+info)