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Abortion after deliberate Arthrotec® addition to food. Mass spectrometric detection of diclofenac, misoprostol acid, and their urinary metabolites

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Abstract

Arthrotec® (AT) is a combination of diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and misoprostol (MP), a synthetic analogue of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1). MP is a lipophilic methyl ester prodrug. It is readily metabolized to the biologically active misoprostol acid (MPA). During the last few years, medical studies exhibited MP to be an excellent abortive. In this paper, we describe a rare criminal case of MP abortion, initiated by the expectant father. After the abortion, samples of vomit and urine were collected. Systemic exposure to MP is difficult to prove, because both MP and the active metabolite MPA are hardly excreted in urine. Therefore, in addition to routine toxicological analysis, we used slightly modified, well-established liquid and gas chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS) methods, for the direct and the indirect detection of MPA and its metabolites. In this case, we were able to demonstrate the presence of the major MP metabolites 2,3-dinor-MPA and 2,3,4,5-tetranor-MPA in the urine of the victim. We also detected paracetamol, 3-methoxyparacetamol and diclofenac-glucuronide in the urine. In the vomit of the victim, we detected diclofenac and MPA. These results, combined with the criminal investigations, showed that the accused had mixed MP into the food of his pregnant girlfriend. Finally, these investigations contributed to a confession of the accused.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (grant Se 263/17-1).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Philipps University Marburg, Baldingerstrasse, 35043, Marburg, Germany

    Bernhard Watzer & Horst Schweer

  2. Department of Forensic Medicine, Netherlands Forensic Institute, Laan van Ypenburg 6, 2497 GB, Den Haag, The Netherlands

    Klaas J. Lusthof

Authors
  1. Bernhard Watzer
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  2. Klaas J. Lusthof
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  3. Horst Schweer
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Correspondence to Bernhard Watzer.

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Watzer, B., Lusthof, K.J. & Schweer, H. Abortion after deliberate Arthrotec® addition to food. Mass spectrometric detection of diclofenac, misoprostol acid, and their urinary metabolites. Int J Legal Med 129, 759–769 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-014-1136-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-014-1136-4

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