NCJ Number
139924
Journal
Japanese Journal of Legal Medicine Volume: 46 Issue: 4 Dated: (1992) Pages: 282- 285
Date Published
1992
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A 25-year old Japanese male anesthesiologist was found dead in his room with an intravenous drip line in his leg. Police found several empty containers of pancuronium, midazolam, and buprenorphine next to the body.
Abstract
Blood and urine samples collected during the autopsy through spectrofluorometry and ECD-gas chromatography revealed pancuronium and midazolam, respectively. The concentrations of pancuronium and midazolam were 0.3 ug/g and 0.12 ug/g in the blood, and 0.9 ug/g and 0.05 ug/g in the urine. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to respiratory muscle paralysis caused by pancuronium. 1 figure and 11 references