A fatal case of poisoning related to new cathinone designer drugs, 4-methoxy PV8, PV9, and 4-methoxy PV9, and a dissociative agent, diphenidine.
Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) September 1, 2015 Keiko Kudo, Yosuke Usumoto, Ruri Kikura-Hanajiri et al.
A woman in her thirties was found dead with aroma liquid, bath salt products, and hypnotic drug tablets nearby. Autopsy revealed pulmonary congestion and edema. Analysis detected four designer drugs: 4-methoxy PV8, PV9, 4-methoxy PV9, and diphenidine, plus three benzodiazepines (triazolam, flunitrazepam, nitrazepam) and alcohol. Femoral blood concentrations of the cathinones and diphenidine were 2.69, 0.743, 0.261, and 1.38 μg/ml, respectively, markedly higher than earlier cases; alcohol was 1.52 mg/ml. The cause of death was poisoning from these cathinone drugs and diphenidine, compounded by benzodiazepines and alcohol.