{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,4]],"date-time":"2026-07-04T18:10:16Z","timestamp":1783188616646,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,28]],"date-time":"2024-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1724803200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,15]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>The designer benzodiazepine bromazolam is increasingly encountered in forensic casework, including impaired driving investigations. A series of suspected impaired driving cases that tested positive for bromazolam are described herein along with information about driving performance, driver appearance, and observed behavior. Bromazolam was indicated in casework either through screening by liquid chromatography\u2013time of flight mass spectrometry (LC\u2013TOF-MS) and\/or a positive benzodiazepine immunoassay screen. Blood samples were forwarded for quantitative confirmatory analysis using a liquid chromatography\u2013tandem mass spectrometry (LC\u2013MS\u2013MS) method with a reporting limit of 2.0\u2009ng\/mL. Bromazolam was reported in 98 impaired driving cases from samples reported between January 2021 and December 2023, with the earliest detection from September 2020. Mean and median blood concentrations were 125\u2009\u00b1\u2009145 and 84\u2009ng\/mL respectively, with a range of 4.2\u2013990\u2009ng\/mL. Additional positive findings were reported in almost all cases, with the highest result (990\u2009ng\/mL) being the only case in which bromazolam was the only finding. Fentanyl was the most frequent drug found in combination with bromazolam. Driving behaviors reported in these cases included erratic driving, errors in Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and symptoms consistent with central nervous system depressants, including slurred speech, incoordination, and lethargic behavior. Based on its prevalence and demonstrated impairing effects, bromazolam should be included in the scope of impaired driving testing as long as it continues to be prevalent in the drug supply.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/jat\/bkae074","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,28]],"date-time":"2024-08-28T02:25:38Z","timestamp":1724811938000},"page":"653-658","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Bromazolam in impaired driving investigations"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"48","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7388-1898","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jolene J","family":"Bierly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicological Services, NMS Labs , Horsham, PA 19044,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1638-3259","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Donna M","family":"Papsun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicological Services, NMS Labs , Horsham, PA 19044,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2400-4711","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Barry K","family":"Logan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Toxicological Services, NMS Labs , Horsham, PA 19044,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Center for Forensic Science Research and Education , Horsham, PA 19044,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"2024111514364194900_R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"668","DOI":"10.1093\/jat\/bkad036","article-title":"Increasing prevalence of designer benzodiazepines in impaired driving: a 5-year analysis from 2017 to 2021","volume":"47","author":"Papsun","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Anal Toxicol"},{"key":"2024111514364194900_R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1093\/jat\/bkad005","article-title":"Bromazolam blood concentrations in postmortem cases\u2014a British Columbia perspective","volume":"47","author":"M\u00e9rette","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Anal Toxicol"},{"key":"2024111514364194900_R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1390","DOI":"10.1021\/jm00197a021","article-title":"6-Aryl-4H-s-triazolo[4,3-a][1,4]benzodiazepines. 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