Low blood alcohol concentrations and driving impairment

Considering the growing number of requests from the criminal investigations authorities addressed to the institutions of legal medicine, testing of blood alcohol concentration both in the living person and in the corpse, we believe that a presentation of the two methods which are used in our country, is a topic of interest at present. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with the technical details on how blodd alcohol concentration is realised by means of the gas chromatographic method and the classical one, (Cordebard modified by D. Banciu and I. Droc) respectively. Another purpose of this article is to also show, in a comparative way, the elements that make the gas chromatographic method superior to the former one.

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Combination of Alcohol and EVOH as a New Embolic Agent: Midterm Tissue and Inflammatory Effects in a Swine Model

Radiology Research and Practice ◽

10.1155/2020/8831060 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Jean-François Hak ◽

Farouk Tradi ◽

Mickael Bobot ◽

Pauline Brige ◽

Paul Habert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vascular Occlusion ◽

Embolic Agent ◽

Swine Model ◽

Blood Alcohol ◽

Alcohol Content ◽

Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Blood Alcohol Content ◽

Tubular Necrosis ◽

Group 2 ◽

Group 1

Objective. To evaluate the vascular occlusion and midterm tissue toxicity properties of a combination of ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) (Squid 18®) (75%) and alcohol (25%)—Alco-Squid 18—in a swine model. Materials and Methods. Alco-Squid 18 (75% Squid 18® mixed with 25% alcohol) (AS18) was compared to embolization with 96% alcohol alone and to embolization with Squid 18® (S18®) alone. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) model was created in group 1 (n = 2). Each AVM model was then embolized with AS18 or S18® alone with evaluation of a ratio between the volume of embolic agent divided by the volume of the AVM (evaluated by CT). For group 2 (n = 5), each agent was tested on three different kidneys (upper pole kidney artery). Pre- and postinterventional CTs, angiographies, blood alcohol content dosages, and histological studies (3 months postintervention) were performed. Results. AS18 has better distal distribution than S18® alone, both in the kidneys (mean capsule-S18® distance: 3.9 mm (±0.23) and mean capsule-AS18 distance: 2.3 mm (±0.11) ( p = 0.029 ) and in the AVM model. Histological exploration found a higher rate of tubular necrosis with AS18 compared with S18® alone and alcohol alone (3.78 ± 0.44 compared to 2.33 ± 1.22 p = 0 . 012 and 1.22 ± 0.67 p < 0 . 0001 ). The blood alcohol content was negligible in all cases. Conclusion. AS18 can suggest a better distal sclerotic and embolic character as compared with S18® alone without systemic toxicity.

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Quantitation of Δ8-THC, Δ9-THC, Cannabidiol and 10 Other Cannabinoids and Metabolites in Oral Fluid by HPLC–MS-MS

Journal of Analytical Toxicology ◽

10.1093/jat/bkaa184 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lin Lin ◽

Piyadarsha Amaratunga ◽

Jerome Reed ◽

Pornkamol Huang ◽

Bridget Lorenz Lemberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Subject ◽

High Performance ◽

Oral Fluid ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Forensic Toxicology ◽

High Concentration ◽

Driving Impairment ◽

Three Samples ◽

Cannabidiolic Acid ◽

Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass

Abstract Quantitative analysis of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in oral fluid has gained increasing interest in clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories. New medicinal and/or recreational cannabinoid products require laboratories to distinguish different patterns of cannabinoid use. This study validated a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for 13 different cannabinoids, including (-)-trans-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC), (-)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), cannabidiol (CBD), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A (Δ9-THCA-A), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), 11-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OH-Δ9-THC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THCCOOH), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabidiorcol (CBD-C1), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabinol (CBN) and cannabigerol (CBG), in oral fluid. Baseline separation was achieved in the entire quantitation range between Δ9-THC and its isomer Δ8-THC. The quantitation range of Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC and CBD was from 0.1 to 800 ng/mL. Two hundred human subject oral fluid samples were analyzed with this method after solid phase extraction. Among the 200 human subject oral fluid samples, all 13 cannabinoid analytes were confirmed in at least one sample. Δ8-THC was confirmed in 11 samples, with or without the presence of Δ9-THC. A high concentration of 11-OH-Δ9-THC or Δ9-THCCOOH (>400 ng/mL) was confirmed in three samples. CBD, Δ9-THCA-A, THCV, CBN and CBG were confirmed in 74, 39, 44, 107 and 112 of the 179 confirmed Δ9-THC-positive samples, respectively. The quantitation of multiple cannabinoids and metabolites in oral fluid simultaneously provides valuable information for revealing cannabinoid consumption and interpreting cannabinoid-induced driving impairment.

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