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Cocaine-related deaths: an enigma still under investigation.

Bertol E, Trignano C, Di Milia MG, Di Padua M, Mari F

Forensic Toxicology Division, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Legal Medicine, University of Florence, Italy. elisabetta.bertol@unifi.it

In recent years there has been an increase interest in cocaine-related death reflecting the rising trend in cocaine use in Europe. Nevertheless it is still now very difficult to attribute a death to cocaine. We can affirm that cocaine can be responsible for the cause of death only when there is a reasonably complete understanding of the circumstances or facts surrounding the death. Isolated blood cocaine levels are not enough to assess lethality, and should be always considered and evaluated in relation to concentrations of cocaine and benzoylecgonine concentrations in body tissue compartments, especially in brain and blood. We have reanalyzed all of our cocaine-related cases from 1990 to 2005, applying the methodology used by Spielher and Reed over 30 years ago. Our aim was to try to validate this model and verify its applicability and effectiveness after 20 years.

Published 4 March 2008 in Forensic Sci Int, 176(2): 121-3.
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