earticle

영어

Pentobarbital belongs to barbiturates and is a drug used for general anesthesia and seizures. Although barbituric acid derivatives have been a major medicine for anxiety and insomnia in the past, they have been largely replaced by benzodiazepines due to serious central nervous system toxicity and fatal interactions with other drugs. Pentobarbital is currently produced as an injection for anesthesia in Korea, but it is used for euthanasia in some countries. The overdosage of pentobarbital may lead to respiratory depression, hypotension, coma and death. Therefore, some cases that pentobarbital was purchased through the internet or black market and used as a suicidal application had been reported. In this study, we encountered recently four suicidal cases of pentobarbital poisoning. The identification of toxic substances was requested in their biological specimens and the scene evidences. Pentobarbital was detected in biological specimens, and the concentrations of it were ranged from 42.0-431.0 mg/L in heart blood and 18.0-60.0 mg/L in peripheral blood, respectively. From the four cases, pentobarbital was detected as lethal concentration in the blood and large amounts far exceeding the recommended dosage were detected in the gastric contents. Along with pentobarbital, metoclopramide, a gastrointestinal function modifier, was detected in the biological specimens from three cases, and nitrous oxide, a recreational drug, was detected in scene evidences from one case. It was believed that the fatalities died from pentobarbital intoxication, and methoclopramide was taken together as an anti-vomiting agent.