SOFT 2004 Meeting Abstracts - Society of Forensic Toxicologists

P56
POSTMORTEM QUETIAPINE: THERAPEUTIC OR TOXIC CONCENTRATIONS
Dawn R. Parker* and lain M. McIntyre. San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office, 5555 Overland
Avenue, Bldg. # 14, San Diego, CA 92123.
Currently, very little literature data are available on postmortem blood concentrations of quetiapine. A
study was performed to establish relative guidelines for the delineation of therapeutic and potentially toxic
concentrations. This study was conducted in medical examiner cases in which quetiapine was detected
with routine screening methods.
Quetiapine Fumarate (SEROQUEL®) is a dibenzothiazepine derivative (2-(2-(4-dibenzo [bj)
[1 ,4]thiazepin-ll-yl-l-piperazinyl)ethoxy ]-ethanol fumarate) used in the treatment of psychosis. Fourteen
fatalities in which quetiapine was detected were selected for investigation.
Following liquid-liquid basic extraction, high performance liquid chromatography was used to analyze
blood (peripheral and central), vitreous humor, and liver. The cases were organized into two groups: "nondrug
related" fatalities and "drug related" fatalities.
A total of eight "non-drug related" fatality cases were examined. Peripheral blood concentrations ranged
from: 0.26 to 0.76 mg/L (mean +1- standard deviation 0.38 +1- 0.17 mg/L); central blood concentrations:
0.23 to 0.73 mg/L (0.46 +1- 0.21 mg/L); vitreous humor concentrations: 0.08 to 0.32 mg/L (0.16 +/- 0.08
mg/L); and liver concentrations: