Rare Fentanyl related death in northern Greece

摘要

Objectives: Introduction: Fentanyl (N-(1-phenethyl-4-piperidyl) propionanilide) is a potent synthetic opiate, 75-100 times morepotent than morphine, with a fast onset and short duration of action. It is commonly used for surgical analgesiaand sedation, whilst it also produces euphoria but in less extent than morphine. Owing to their potent activity,therapeutic doses are generally very low (i.e. 0.1-1.2 mg for oral administration, or 12.5-100 μg/h fortransdermal patches, minimal lethal dose: 2 mg). Fentanyl has minor cardiovascular effects but can causerespiratory depression, hypotension and coma. The greater potency, the rapid onset and sometimes thecombination with other drugs can lead to sudden death.In recent years, the illicit use of fentanyl has increased leading to an increasing number of fentanylrelateddeaths, thus the determination of fentanyl, its metabolites and analogs is a main issue in forensic andclinical toxicology.In this study, we present a fatal case as a result of fentanyl misuse in combination with bromazepam.