Correlation of the incidence of cocaine and cocaethylene in hair and postmortem biologic samples

Hair samples are useful as a matrix for drug testing because drugs can be d etected in hair for longer periods than in blood or urine. The authors repo rt a prospective comparison of the detection of cocaine and cocaethylene in routine postmortem biologic specimens to the detection of cocaine and coca ethylene in hair. The authors collected hair samples from various areas of the head in 53 autopsy cases, prepared them, and analyzed them by gas chrom atography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for cocaine and cocaethylene. The autho rs compared the results of hair analysis with the results of toxicologic an alysis performed on routine postmortem samples by enzyme multiplied immunoa ssay technique and GC/MS. Cocaine was found in either biologic fluids or in hair in 16 of 53 samples tested. Nine samples were positive for cocaine in both biologic fluids and hair. Five samples contained cocaine only in biol ogic fluids, and two contained cocaine only in hair. Cocaethylene was prese nt in two cases. Drug screening of hair provides additional information in some autopsy cases, but the authors have not made hair analysis a routine p ractice. It may prove useful to save hair samples in all cases for later an alysis if warranted by additional history or autopsy findings.