Application of segmental hair analysis to elucidate routine and immediately pre-mortem drug intake histories in highly decomposed corpses.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the applicability of segmental hair analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to determine the cause of death in highly decomposed corpses, where collection of urine or blood samples was impossible.

METHODS

Multiple hair samples were collected from a highly decomposed female corpse and cut into 1-, 3-, and 10-mm segments. Qualitative LC/MS/MS analysis was performed on the hair root and shaft segments, followed by detailed quantitative analysis of the hair fragments.

RESULTS

Qualitative analysis detected the prescribed drugs including zolpidem in all segments, indicating a distribution pattern of daily drug intake. Detailed segmental analysis revealed zolpidem concentrations ranging from 30 to 70 pg/mm in the root segment, and from 200 to 400 pg/mm in the other segments. These findings ruled out a large intake of zolpidem immediately prior to death. Similarly, no evidence of acute overdose with other prescribed drugs was identified.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that even in decomposed corpses, where conventional biological samples are unavailable, high-sensitivity LC/MS/MS analysis of hair segments, including the root, enables accurate determination not only of the deceased’s routine intake of sleep-inducing drugs but also of immediately pre-mortem drug intake.