Table 2.

Concentration distribution in post-mortem (PM) femoral blood and proportion of fatal poisonings for 129 drugs

	Drug	Cases	LOQ	PM mean	PM median	PM upper percentiles mg/L			Therapeutic range in plasmaa	Proportion of fatal poisonings	PM blood/therapeutic plasma concentration relationshipb
		N	mg/L	mg/L	mg/L	90th	95th	97.5th	mg/L	%
1	Acebutolol	85	0.25	11	0.84	25	86	100	0.2-2	20	1
2	Alprazolam	940	0.02	0.09	0.05	0.20	0.30	0.40	0.005-0.05	13	1
3	Aminophenazone, 4-methyl	330	2/3c	25	15	58	82	103	10d	1	1
4	Amiodarone	125	0.4	3.4	1.8	7.7	11	15	1-2	1	1
5	Amitriptyline	1589	0.1	1.5	0.40	2.9	5.5	8.8	0.05-0.3	27	1.3
6	Amlodipine	313	0.006	0.10	0.07	0.20	0.26	0.34	0.003-0.015	3	4.5
7	Amphetamine	565	0.04	0.91	0.28	2.1	3.7	6.2	0.02-0.1	12	2.8
8	Atenolol	415	0.2	1.3	0.64	2.6	4.6	6.9	0.1-1	6	1
9	Betaxolol	124	0.003	0.22	0.10	0.31	0.41	0.43	0.005-0.05	2	1.9
10	Biperiden	30	0.1	0.20	0.10	0.30	0.30	0.66	0.05-0.1	0	1
11	Bisoprolol	3633	0.01	0.12	0.05	0.17	0.26	0.43	0.01-0.1	1	1
12	Bupivacaine	49	0.2	1.2	0.40	1.6	3.0	4.3	0.5-1.5	0	0.80
13	Buprenorphine	671	0.0002	0.0033	0.0012	0.0058	0.0093	0.022	0.0005-0.005	45	1
14	Caffeine	22125	1/3c	4.0	3.0	7.5	10	13	4-10	0	0.75
15	Carbamazepine	1482	1/0.3c	7.9	6.2	13	19	27	2-8	2	1
16	Carvedilol	134	0.003	0.05	0.02	0.08	0.13	0.43	appr. 0.02-0.15	0	1
17	Celiprolol	105	0.03	2.1	0.28	2.7	5.2	6.9	0.05-0.5	6	1
18	Cetirizine	99	0.005	0.41	0.10	0.92	1.9	2.9	appr. 0.02-0.3	0	1
19	Chlordiazepoxide	1714	0.2	1.4	0.70	3.5	5.2	7.6	0.4-3	1	1
20	Chloroquine	47	0.2	12	1.3	43	62	69	0.02-0.5	15	2.6
21	Chlorpromazine	246	0.05	1.0	0.30	2.2	3.9	6.5	0.03-0.1	11	3.0
22	Chlorprothixene	519	0.1	1.7	0.30	3.0	5.2	9.0	0.02-0.3	18	1
23	Citalopram	3542	0.1	0.97	0.40	1.4	2.4	5.3	0.05- 0.11	4	3.6
24	Clonazepam	77	0.01	0.06	0.03	0.10	0.20	0.31	0.02-0.08	5	1
25	Clozapine	445	0.1	2.5	1.1	4.4	8.9	17	0.35-0.6	13	1.8
26	Codeine	1903	0.02	0.72	0.16	1.8	3.2	5.1	0.03-0.25	23	1
27	Cyclizine	48	0.005	1.1	0.30	1.2	2.1	6.0	0.1-0.25	2	1.2
28	Desmethyldiazepam	9459	0.02	0.21	0.10	0.50	0.70	1.0	0.2 -0.8	0	0.13
29	Dextromethorphan	54	0.1	0.69	0.40	1.6	2.2	2.8	0.01-0.04	15	10
30	Dextropropoxyphene	249	0.1	6.5	2.6	12	17	38	0.05-0.3	59	8.7
31	Diazepam	7404	0.02	0.17	0.09	0.4	0.6	0.8	0.1-2	0	0.90
32	Diclofenac	20	0.5	2.5	1.3	6.6	7.1	8.5	0.5-3	0	1
33	Diltiazem	315	0.1	2.5	0.30	1.8	7.9	22	0.03-0.13	9	2.3
34	Diphenhydramine	57	0.005	0.35	0.20	0.80	0.90	0.96	0.05-0.1	0	2.0
35	Dixyrazine	52	0.003	0.70	0.10	1.8	3.9	6.4	appr. 0.3	42	0.33
36	Donepezil	102	0.003	0.23	0.20	0.41	0.49	0.60	appr. 0.03-0.075	0	2.7
37	Doxepin	678	0.05	2.4	0.60	6.7	12	15	0.01-0.2	42	3.0
38	Duloxetine	109	0.01	0.37	0.14	0.64	1.1	2.4	0.03-0.12	8	1.2
39	Ephedrine	156	0.04	0.66	0.21	1.1	1.6	3.1	0.02-0.2	2	1.1
40	Ethylmorphine	71	0.02	0.44	0.10	1.3	2.6	2.8	0.3-0.6	6	0.33
41	Etoricoxib	55	0.5	3.5	1.2	4.2	5.5	6.8	1.3-3.6	0	0.92
42	Fentanyl	419	0.0001	0.012	0.0058	0.023	0.040	0.061	0.001-0.01e	12	1
43	Flecainide	101	0.2	4.7	1.9	9.8	19	23	0.4-0.8	18	2.4
44	Fluconazole	275	0.1	6.3	3.8	15	23	28	appr. 1-5	0	1
45	Fluoxetine	649	0.2	0.80	0.50	1.6	2.5	3.6	0.12-0.5	3	1
46	Fluvoxamine	79	0.03	2.6	0.70	7.7	11	21	0.06-0.23	13	3.0
47	Furosemide	294	0.1	2.6	0.90	5.5	9.5	16.7	2-5	0	0.45
48	Gabapentine	135	1	29	11	60	103	157	appr. 0.5-6	8	1.8
49	Galantamine	44	0.01	0.21	0.11	0.38	0.46	1.1	appr. 0.03-0.06	0	1.8
50	Glimepiride	177	0.01	0.31	0.03	0.26	0.61	1.2	0.09-0.5	1	0.33
51	Haloperidol	94	0.003	0.05	0.01	0.06	0.29	0.40	0.005-0.017	5	1
52	Hydroxycarbamazepine	475	5/3c	27	22	52	66	92	10-35	0	1
53	Hydroxychloroquine	165	1	14	10	30	35	52	-0.1	14	100
54	Hydroxyzine	159	0.2	0.80	0.30	1.6	2.8	5.3	0.05-0.1	16	3.0
55	Ibuprofen	379	10	26	19	45	62	89	15-30	0	1
56	Indomethacin	9	0.5	1.2	1.1	1.6	1.7	1.8	0.3-1	0	1.1
57	Ketamine	118	0.1	1.1	0.50	2.2	4.1	6.3	1-6	1	0.50
58	Ketoprofen	80	0.3	3.2	1.3	5.7	7.6	16	appr. 3.7	0	0.34
59	Labetalol	62	0.01	0.20	0.09	0.30	0.45	1.2	0.03-0.18	0	1
60	Lamotrigine	338	1/0.5c	5.7	3.8	12	18	25	3-14	4	1
61	Levetiracetam	105	3	26	15	55	76	94	10-40	1	1
62	Levomepromazine	1602	0.1	0.99	0.40	1.9	3.2	5.0	0.005-0.025	23	16
63	Lidocaine	2391	0.1	0.81	0.40	1.8	2.8	4.1	1.5-5	0	0.27
64	Lithium	165	0.5	3.2	2.0	6.3	9.4	13	4-8	7	0.50
65	Lorazepam	802	0.01	0.06	0.03	0.10	0.20	0.30	0.08-0.25	0	0.38
66	MDMA	57	0.04	0.76	0.30	2.1	3.5	4.0	0.1-0.35	0	1
67	Melperone	161	0.05	1.5	0.40	3.3	9	14	0.03-0.1	32	4.0
68	Meprobamate	20	10	74	28	121	159	434	5-10	5	2.8
69	Mesoridazine	85	0.2	0.75	0.50	1.3	1.6	2.7	0.15-1	0	1
70	Metformin	1376	1	15	6	36	69	110	0.1-1	6	5.5
71	Methadone	207	0.05	0.59	0.40	1.3	1.8	2.2	0.1-0.5	43	1
72	Methamphetamine	51	0.04	1.7	0.18	1.2	2.2	25	-0.1	10	1.8
73	Metoclopramide	681	0.05	0.21	0.10	0.4	0.6	0.7	0.05-0.15	0	1
74	Metoprolol	2078	0.05	0.96	0.20	1.1	2.0	5.0	0.035-0.5	2	1
75	Mianserin	387	0.05	0.37	0.20	0.70	0.97	1.9	0.015-0.07	7	2.9
76	Midazolam	172	0.02	0.14	0.07	0.40	0.54	0.84	0.04-0.1	2	1
77	Mirtazapine	2179	0.05	0.49	0.20	0.80	1.7	2.9	0.03-0.08	6	2.5
78	Moclobemide	135	0.1	15	1.9	41	61	120	0.3-1.0	13	1.9
79	Morphine	1094	0.02	0.20	0.07	0.37	0.67	1.1	0.01-0.1	4	1
80	Naproxen	202	10	43	33	78	100	120	20-50	1	1
81	Nifedipine	43	0.02	0.31	0.10	0.46	0.69	0.89	0.025-0.15	2	1
82	Nitrazepam	37	0.05	0.13	0.06	0.30	0.42	0.50	0.03-0.1	11	1
83	Olanzapine	1127	0.05	0.41	0.20	0.60	1.1	2.2	0.02-0.08	5	2.5
84	Orphenadrine	284	0.1	0.95	0.30	1.6	3.5	6.2	0.1-0.2	4	1.5
85	Oxazepam	6277	0.02	0.28	0.07	0.7	1.2	1.9	0.2-1.5	0	0.35
86	Oxcarbazepine	71	0.3	1.2	0.60	2.4	4.0	5.3	0.4-2	1	1
87	Oxycodone	1259	0.02	0.34	0.10	0.50	0.84	1.7	0.005-0.1	8	1
88	Paracetamol	3100	5/10c	32	15	62	110	190	10-25	2	1
89	Paroxetine	326	0.004	0.81	0.24	1.4	2.2	3.8	< 0.01-0.05	18	4.7
90	Perphenazine	283	0.005	0.08	0.01	0.08	0.18	0.36	0.001-0.02	2	1
91	Pethidine	46	0.1	0.50	0.30	0.90	1.1	1.9	0.1-0.8	2	1
92	Phenazepam	20	0.03	0.13	0.09	0.20	0.22	0.41	0.02-0.04	0	2.1
93	Phenobarbital	7	10	29	30	44	49	52	10-30	0	1
94	Phenylpropanolamine	65	0.04	0.49	0.14	0.98	1.4	2.5	0.1-0.5	0	1
95	Phenytoin	37	10	14	13	22	25	31	5-15	0	1
96	Pholcodine	73	0.02	0.37	0.19	0.80	1.0	1.5	appr. 0.07-0.2	3	1
97	Pregabalin	380	0.2	15	8.0	35	52	96	2-5	12	1.6
98	Promazine	339	0.1	4.5	1.2	11	19	26	0.01-0.05	42	24
99	Propofol	299	0.1/0.5c	2.5	1.3	5.0	8.2	11	appr. 2-8	1	0.65
100	Propranolol	1078	0.02	1.8	0.13	5.4	11	16	0.02-0.3	15	1
101	Pseudoephedrine	127	0.04	0.81	0.24	1.5	2.4	3.6	0.5-0.8	0	0.48
102	Quetiapine	505	0.2	0.62	0.90	13	30	44	0.1-0.5	18	1.8
103	Quinine	322	0.2	3.5	1.0	4.7	23	34	1-7	3	1
104	Risperidone	622	0.002	0.014	0.004	0.029	0.044	0.086	appr. 0.006	1	1
105	Rivastigmine	56	0.003	0.03	0.01	0.05	0.08	0.12	0.008-0.02	2	1
106	Ropivacaine	44	0.1	0.90	0.70	2.1	2.4	2.9	-1.5f	0	1
107	Salicylic acid	733	5/3c	48	11	83	150	430	20-200	2	0.55
108	Sertraline	445	0.1	0.55	0.30	1.0	1.7	2.3	0.05-0.25	5	1.2
109	Sildenafil	44	0.03	0.41	0.10	0.44	0.53	4.3	appr. 0.05-0.5	2	1
110	Sitagliptin	68	0.01	0.61	0.36	1.3	2.1	2.8	0.05-0.38	0	1
111	Sotalol	120	0.25	2.8	2.0	5.5	8.1	11	0.5-3	1	1
112	Sulpiride	95	0.02	4.2	1.1	7.5	23	33	0.05-0.4	18	2.8
113	Temazepam	6283	0.02	0.34	0.09	0.90	1.4	2.3	0.02-0.15	2	1
114	Tetrahydrocannabinol	347	0.001	0.005	0.002	0.008	0.013	0.024	0.005-0.01	0	0.40
115	Theophylline	52	10	25	15	34	88	107	8-15	4	1
116	Thioridazine	283	0.1	1.3	0.70	2.9	4.3	5.3	0.1-2	6	1
117	Tizanidine	107	0.003	0.12	0.02	0.27	0.48	0.90	appr. 0.015	7	1
118	Topiramate	56	1/3c	16	8.8	21	27	40	2-10	2	1
119	Tramadol	1581	0.1	3.1	0.90	6.50	13	21	0.1-1	18	1
120	Trazodone	58	0.2	2.1	0.40	4.7	9.6	20	0.7-1	7	0.57
121	Trimethoprim	419	1	3.7	2.3	6.7	9.3	13	1.5-2.5	0	1
122	Trimipramine	248	0.1	1.1	0.60	2.4	3.4	4.7	0.01-0.3	19	2.0
123	Valproic acid	956	1/3c	51	28	75	110	230	40-100	2	0.70
124	Venlafaxine	824	0.1	3.7	0.60	5.7	17	33	0.1-0.4	17	1.5
125	Verapamil	174	0.1	2.1	0.35	5.9	9.7	13	0.02-0.25	16	1.4
126	Warfarin	425	0.5	0.81	0.70	1.1	1.6	2.4	1-3	0	0.70
127	Zolpidem	287	0.1	0.59	0.30	1.4	2.0	2.9	0.08-0.15	19	2.0
128	Zopiclone	2577	0.02	0.34	0.10	0.8	1.5	2.4	0.01-0.05	13	2.0
129	Zuclopenthixol	171	0.005	0.10	0.05	0.20	0.30	0.58	0.004-0.05	3	1

^aInformation derived from Schulz et al.¹

^bMedian PM concentration within the established therapeutic range in plasma = 1

Median PM concentration below the therapeutic range divided by the lower limit of the therapeutic range (<1)

Median PM concentration above the therapeutic range divided by the upper limit of the therapeutic range (>1)

^cData combined from two successive methods; validation parameters presented in order of appearance

^dFor parent drug metamizole

^eInformation derived from Winek et al.³²

^fInformation derived from Dollery³³