Tetsuji Miyazaki

Detection of amphetamines in urine using head space-solid phase microextraction and chemical ionization selected ion monitoring☆

An accurate, simple and rapid method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of amphetamine and methamphetamine in urine was developed using head space-solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/chemical ionization selected iron monitoring. A vial containing a urine sample potassium carbonate and pentadeuterated methamphetamine which was used as an internal standard was heated at 80 degrees C for 20 min. The needle of a solid phase microextraction device was passed through the septum, and the extraction fiber in the needle was exposed for 5 min in the head space of the vial. The needle was removed from the vial and inserted into the injection port of gas chromatograph or gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer. The compounds adsorbed on the fiber were detached by exposing the fiber in the injection port, and analyzed. The proposed method was more than 20 times more sensitive than the conventional head space method.

Site dependence of methamphetamine concentrations in blood samples collected from cadavers of people who had been methamphetamine abusers

Various blood samples were collected from heart cavities and blood vessels in eight autopsy cases of people who had been methamphetamine abusers. Methamphetamine and its metabolite, amphetamine, were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring. In four cases where left and right heart blood samples were collected, methamphetamine concentrations in the left heart blood samples were 1.9–2.6 times higher than those in the right heart blood samples. In three cases where pulmonary vein blood samples were collected, methamphetamine concentrations in the pulmonary vein blood samples were higher than those in other blood samples sites. To interpret the blood methamphetamine concentrations, site dependence should be taken into consideration.

Hemoperitoneum due to rupture of a subserosal vein overlying a uterine leiomyoma.

Uterine leiomyoma is the most common tumor in women of reproductive age, but rarely does it lead to fatal hemoperitoneum. We present an autopsy case in which the cause of death was massive hemoperitoneum due to rupture of a subserosal vein overlying a uterine leiomyoma. We report the case of a 28-year-old Japanese woman who had tuberous sclerosis and was gravida 0, para 0. She had a uterine leiomyoma leading to dysmenorrhea. Autopsy revealed a pinhole-sized rupture of a subserosal vein superficial to the leiomyoma that resulted in fatal hemoperitoneum. Rupture of a subserosal vein overlying a uterine leiomyoma may cause sudden and unexpected death.

Peritoneal bleeding due to percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage: An autopsy report.

A 77-year-old man underwent percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) for acute cholecystitis as a preoperative procedure; however, he suddenly suffered cardiopulmonary arrest 4 h after the PTGBD and died. There were three centesis scars for the PTGBD, and only one pathway from the most dorsal centesis scar reached the gallbladder. Microscopically, the PTGBD pathway crossed and injured the intrahepatic arterial wall, and hepatic parenchymal bleeding extended along the PTGBD pathway to the inferior surface of the liver. Blood flowed to the peritoneal cavity through a small gap between the liver and gallbladder. Consequently, the PTGBD caused lethal bleeding. When the percutaneous transhepatic cholangio drainage/PTGBD pathway runs close to vessels near the liver surface, it might be necessary to deal with the possibility of rapid and lethal peritoneal bleeding.

Interpretation of accelerants in blood of cadavers found in the wreckage after fire.

Accelerants in the blood of 73 cadavers found in wreckage after fire were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and a combination of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to decide whether accelerants containing petroleum components had been used and whether the cadavers had been exposed to fire before or after death. In 16 of 26 cases in which accelerants were used to start a fire before death, accelerants were detected in the blood. In 7 cases in which accelerants were used to start a fire, the victims were determined to have been exposed to the vapor of accelerants after death because no accelerants were detected in the blood, no soot was found in the airways, and carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) concentrations were not higher than those found in smokers. In 9 of 34 cases in which accelerants were suspected to have been used to start a fire before death, accelerants were detected in the blood. When soot is not detectable by the unaided eye in the airways of a victim found in debris of a fire in which the use of accelerants is suspected, or the COHb concentration in the blood is no higher than in a smoker, analysis of accelerants in the blood seems to be helpful in determining the cause of death and whether inflammable were used.

Investigation of an anatomically variant isolated bicuspid pulmonary valve: A case report

Introduction: We provide a discussion of the anatomical characteristics of the bicuspid pulmonary valve (BPV) in this paper. We performed an autopsy of an isolated BPV found in the heart of a deceased individual. The deceased was a man in his 60s and had no previous history of cardiovascular disease. The heart weighed 260u200ag and had mild right ventricular hypertrophy. The pulmonary valve had a fish-mouth-like shape that was convex to the pulmonary trunk and both cusps were thickened and hardened. The anterior and left semilunar cusps of the pulmonary valve were fused. Post-stenotic dilatation was noted. Conclusions : In comparing the present case with previous reports, we found that, in human BPVs, cusps are fused in at least 2 patterns.