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A 24-year-old man known to consume illegal drugs was found dead in his apartment. A reclosable plastic zipper bag containing several hundred milligrams of a brown powder was found close to the dead body and the first assumption of the investigators was death due to heroin intoxication. Therefore, a legal autopsy was ordered. The following toxicological analysis revealed ocfentanil in urine and in the brown powder. Four different approaches for the determination of the ocfentanil concentrations in peripheral whole blood are described. Enrichment of ocfentanil from the powder was realized. With this reference, it was possible to determine the ocfentanil concentration in the seized powder to be 0.91%. Concentrations of ocfentanil were also determined in the sampled body fluids using the standard addition procedure. In peripheral blood 9.1 µg/L, in heart blood 27.9 µg/L and in urine 480 µg/L were measured. In addition, the antidepressant citalopram, the neuroleptic quetiapine and cannabinoids were found in urine and subsequently quantified in peripheral blood.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT• Nasal application of midazolam has been studied for a variety of indications. Due to the limited application volume, highly concentrated formulations are required to reach clinically relevant concentrations in adult patients. No data on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nasal midazolam formulations based on cyclodextrin and chitosan are available. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS• Clinically effective midazolam concentrations can be reached within less than 10 min after nasal administration of highly concentrated formulations containing an equimolar amount of the solubilizer randomly methylatedb-cyclodextrin combined with the absorption enhancer chitosan. Immediate non-invasive application of such formulations in emergency treatment of seizure patients by lay persons could offer clinical benefits in situations where intravenous access cannot be quickly established. AIMSTo investigate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nasal formulations containing midazolam (5-30 mg ml METHODSAn open-label sequential trial was conducted in eight healthy subjects receiving single doses of 1 mg and 3 mg intranasally and 1 mg midazolam intravenously. Pharmacokinetic parameters were obtained by non-compartmental and two-compartmental models. Pharmacodynamic effects of midazolam were assessed using VAS and a reaction time test. RESULTSMean bioavailability of midazolam after nasal administration ranged from 76 Ϯ 12% to 92 Ϯ 15%. With formulations delivering 1 mg midazolam, mean Cmax values between 28.1 Ϯ 9.1 and 30.1 Ϯ 6.6 ng ml -1 were reached after 9.4 Ϯ 3.2-11.3 Ϯ 4.4 min. With formulations delivering 3 mg midazolam, mean Cmax values were between 68.9 Ϯ 19.8 and 80.6 Ϯ 15.2 ng ml -1 after 7.2 Ϯ 0.7-13.0 Ϯ 4.3 min. Chitosan significantly increased Cmax and reduced tmax of midazolam in the high-dose formulation. Mean ratios of dose-adjusted AUC after intranasal and intravenous application for 1′-hydroxymidazolam were between 0.97 Ϯ 0.15 and 1.06 Ϯ 0.24, excluding relevant gastrointestinal absorption of intranasal midazolam. The pharmacodynamic effects after the low-dose nasal formulations were comparable with those after 1 mg intravenous midazolam. The maximum increase in reaction time by the chitosan-containing formulation delivering 3 mg midazolam was greater compared with 1 mg midazolam i.v. (95 Ϯ 78 ms and 19 Ϯ 22 ms, mean difference 75.5 ms, 95% CI 15.5, 135.5, P < 0.01). Intranasal midazolam was well tolerated but caused reversible irritation of the nasal mucosa. CONCLUSIONSEffective midazolam serum concentrations were reached within less than 10 min after nasal application of a highly concentrated midazolam formulation containing an equimolar amount of the solubilizer RMbCD combined with the absorption enhancer chitosan.

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