Postmortem Concentrations of Tramadol and O-Desmethyltramadol in 11 Aviation Accident Fatalities

reportActive / Technical Report | Accession Number: ADA534674 | Open PDF

Abstract:

Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic used to treat moderate-to-severe pain. Side effects of this medication include dizziness, confusion, drowsiness, seizures, and respiratory depression. Any of these side effects could negatively affect a pilots performance and become a factor in an aviation accident. Due to the severity of aviation accidents, blood samples are often not available, and frequently, only tissue specimens are available for analysis. Therefore, understanding the distribution of a drug throughout all fluids and tissues of the body is important when trying to interpret drug impairment andor intoxication. Our laboratory has determined the distribution of tramadol and its main active metabolite, O-desmethyltramadol, in various postmortem tissues and fluids obtained from 11 fatal aviation accident cases. Whole blood tramadol concentrations obtained from these 11 cases ranged from 81-2720 ngmL. When available, 10 specimen types were analyzed for each case, including blood, urine, vitreous humor, liver, lung, kidney, spleen, muscle, heart, and brain.

Author(s):
Lewis, Russell J. ; Ritter, Roxane M. ; Johnson, Robert D. ; Crump, Ryan W.
Author Organization(s):
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION OKLAHOMA CITY OK CIVIL AEROSPACE MEDICAL INST
Descriptive Note:
Final rept.
Pagination:
0012

Security Markings

DOCUMENT & CONTEXTUAL SUMMARY

Distribution:
Approved For Public Release
Distribution Statement:
Approved For Public Release; Distribution Is Unlimited.

RECORD

Collection: TR
Identifying Numbers
Report Number(s):
DOT/FAA/AM-10/19
Monitor Series:
FAA-OAM
 Subject Terms
Joint Capability Areas:
JCA_5_Command and Control; JCA_5.3_Planning; JCA_5.2.3_Share Knowledge and Situational Awareness; JCA_5.2_Understand; JCA_1_Force Support; JCA_6_Net Centric
Communities of Interest:
Biomedical
Descriptor(s):
*AVIATION ACCIDENTS, *ANALGESICS, BRAIN, PILOTS, COEFFICIENTS, VERTIGO, BLOOD, METABOLITES, AUTOPSY, CONVULSIVE DISORDERS, TISSUES(BIOLOGY), RATIOS, CONCENTRATION(CHEMISTRY)
Field(s)/Group(s):
Commercial and General Aviation, Safety Engineering
Keyword(s):
FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY, TRAMADOL, DISTRIBUTION, GC MS, FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY
Report Date:
2010 Dec 01
Creation Date:
2011 Jan 19