Analytical screening after a suspected narcotic-facilitated burglary: a case report

The detection and identification of narcotic substances in specimens of body fluids poses unusual analytical problems in clinical and forensic toxicology. A wide variety of compounds may be encountered, from polyhalogenated anaesthetics (such as halothane and enflurane) to organic solvents (diethyl ether and chloroform) and the widespread nitrous oxide. The Laboratory of Pharmaco-Toxicological Analysis received from the local police blood and urine samples from a subject who claimed to have been narcotised while the house was burglarised; police officers, who visited the site of the crime, after a few hours, experienced dizziness and headache symptoms. Anecdotic reports abound in several countries of people subjectively reporting of having been narcotised for burglary or robbery purposes. However, biological fluid analyses almost invariably turn out negative, suggesting that the occurrences of this kind of crime are relatively rare. Thus, an extensive toxicological assessment was carried out in order to identify and quantify possible anaesthetic and narcotic compounds or markers of exposure. Both qualitative assays for halogenated hydrocarbons (such as the Fujiwara test) and instrumental methods (such as liquid chromatography for benzodiazepines) were applied to the available biological fluids of the burglary victim. All tests gave negative results, preventing the identification of any plausible cause of unconsciousness.