LAUSR

This paper presents analytical results of cardiovascular drugs which were determined in exhumed liver and brain tissue in a total of 115 cases. Exhumations were executed after 9.5-16.5 years of burial. Analysis was performed by solid-phase-extraction and liquid chromatography-electrospray-mass spectrometry. Bisoprolol, verapamil and xipamide could be proven in all cases in which these were supposedly administered within a defined time frame. Amiodarone was detectable in over 90%, amlodipine in over 80% and cafedrine, clonidine, phenprocoumon as well as torsemide in over 50% of relevant cases. By contrast, atropine, esmolol, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide and lisinopril were found in less than 50% of relevant cases but nifedipine and nitrendipine were not detectable at all. The percentage of positive results for liver and brain tissue for the relevant administered drugs and corresponding postmortem periods are presented per analyte. Neither time since death nor stage of degradation was a reliable predictor of the success rate, as exemplarily shown for furosemide. The presented data may serve as a reference when deciding whether to exhume a corpse for forensic-toxicological examinations in comparable cases.