{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T13:33:25Z","timestamp":1781530405127,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,25]],"date-time":"2020-11-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1606262400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Med Sci Law"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Etizolam is a thienodiazepine that although licensed for clinical usage in Japan, India and South Korea is commonly abused and detected in post-mortem cases around the world. To date, there are limited data in the literature to allow for the interpretation of blood concentrations of etizolam in post-mortem cases. A liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was used to quantitate etizolam concentrations in 28 post-mortem cases where etizolam was detected. The median concentration of etizolam in femoral blood was 8.5\u2009ng\/mL (range 1.0\u2013172.0\u2009ng\/mL; n\u2009=\u200924); in antemortem plasma, the etizolam concentration range was 4\u201344\u2009ng\/mL ( n\u2009=\u20094). The mean age of the individuals abusing etizolam was 38.5\u2009\u00b1\u20098.4 years (median 39 years), with the majority being male (86%). In all of the cases, multiple drugs were detected, with the most common being pregabalin (61%) followed by morphine\/heroin (54%), diazepam (54%) and benzoylecgonine (21%), illustrating the increasing problem of poly-substance use in drug abusers. The cause of death in the cases in which etizolam was detected was multi-drug toxicity in 87.5% of the cases, with 12.5% unrelated to drug use (hangings and blunt-force trauma). These data will further help forensic practitioners with the interpretation of post-mortem etizolam concentrations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0025802420973814","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,25]],"date-time":"2020-11-25T06:57:38Z","timestamp":1606287458000},"page":"122-129","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Femoral blood concentrations of the designer benzodiazepine etizolam in post-mortem cases"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"61","author":[{"given":"Laura J","family":"Hikin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Forensic Toxicology Service, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul R","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forensic Toxicology Service, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3801-9658","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter D","family":"Maskell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Applied Sciences, Abertay University, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hassan","family":"Kurimbokus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Analytical Services International, St George\u2019s University of London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"Ashong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Analytical Services International, St George\u2019s University of London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lewis","family":"Couchman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Analytical Services International, St George\u2019s University of London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9715-8936","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephen R","family":"Morley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forensic Toxicology Service, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-0025802420973814","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0924-977X(99)00053-X"},{"key":"bibr2-0025802420973814","unstructured":"World Health Organization. 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