Therapeutic and Toxic Drug Concentrations in Post Mortem Blood: A Six Year Study in the State of Maryland

Abstract
A six-year study of therapeutic and toxic drug concentrations in the blood from medical examiner's cases in the State of Maryland is reported. Statistical means, ranges, and number of cases are presented for three categories of cases; single drug deaths (53 drugs and 5 metabolites), multiple drug deaths (40 drugs and 5 drug metabolites), and non-drug related deaths (49 drugs and 5 metabolites). Results are compared to previous studies from the literature to facilitate, augment, and improve the understanding of the concentrations of drugs consistent with therapy or death.