Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Inj Prev. 2013 Aug;19(4):284-9. doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040488. Epub 2012 Nov 29.
Forensic toxicological data provides valuable insight into the potential contribution of alcohol and drugs to external-cause deaths. There is a paucity of material that guides injury researchers on the principles that need to be considered when examining the presence and contribution of alcohol and drugs to these deaths. This paper aims to describe and discuss strengths and limitations of postmortem forensic toxicology sample selection, variations in analytical capabilities and data interpretation for injury prevention research. Issues to be considered by injury researchers include: the circumstances surrounding death (including the medical and drug use history of the deceased person); time and relevant historical factors; postmortem changes (including redistribution and instability); laboratory practices; specimens used; drug concentration; and attribution of contribution to death. This paper describes the range of considerations for testing and interpreting postmortem forensic toxicology, particularly when determining impairment or toxicity as possible causal factors in injury deaths. By describing these considerations, this paper has application to decisions about study design and case inclusion in injury prevention research, and to the interpretation of research findings.
法医毒理学数据为了解酒精和药物对外部原因死亡的潜在贡献提供了有价值的见解。目前，关于在检查这些死亡中酒精和药物的存在和贡献时需要考虑的原则，指导伤害研究人员的材料很少。本文旨在描述和讨论在进行伤害预防研究时，检查和解释法医毒理学样本选择、分析能力和数据的优势和局限性。伤害研究人员需要考虑的问题包括：死亡的情况（包括死者的医疗和用药史）；时间和相关历史因素；死后变化（包括再分布和不稳定性）；实验室操作；使用的标本；药物浓度；以及归因于死亡的贡献。本文描述了测试和解释法医毒理学的一系列考虑因素，特别是在确定损伤或毒性是否为伤害死亡的可能因果因素时。通过描述这些考虑因素，本文适用于伤害预防研究中关于研究设计和病例纳入的决策，以及对研究结果的解释。
