Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37300633›Full record

ArticleForensic toxicology2024

Death after smoking of fentanyl, 5F-ADB, 5F-MDMB-P7AICA and other synthetic cannabinoids with a bucket bong.

Merja A Neukamm, Sebastian Halter, Volker Auwärter, Georg Schmitt, Arianna Giorgetti, Marc Bartel

Open access · hybridAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Forensic toxicology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.5field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
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  5. Article
  6. CBPharmacological research · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Merja A NeukammInstitute of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Toxicology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 9, 79104, Freiburg, Germany. merja.neukamm@uniklinik-freiburg.de.ORCID 0000-0002-3826-2327
Sebastian HalterInstitute of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Toxicology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 9, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
Volker AuwärterInstitute of Forensic Medicine, Forensic Toxicology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 9, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
Georg SchmittInstitute of Forensic and Traffic Medicine, University Hospital, Voßstrasse 2, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany.
Arianna GiorgettiDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Unit of Legal Medicine, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 49, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
Marc BartelInstitute of Forensic and Traffic Medicine, University Hospital, Voßstrasse 2, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany.
University of Freiburg · DEHeidelberg University · DEUniversity of Bologna · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe report a case of a polydrug user who consumed various synthetic cannabinoids and fentanyl from a transdermal patch via a bucket bong. Toxicological results from postmortem matrices with special focus on synthetic cannabinoids are discussed in terms of their relevance to the death.

methodsThe samples were analyzed by toxicological screening procedures involving immunoassays and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as well as quantitative analyses by means of GC-MS and high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

resultsAt the autopsy, coronary artery disease and signs of liver congestion were noted, in the absence of acute myocardial ischemic changes. Femoral blood concentrations of fentanyl and pregabalin were 14 ng/mL and 3,200 ng/mL, respectively. In addition, 2.7 ng/mL 5F-ADB and 13 ng/mL 5F-MDMB-P7AICA were detected together with relatively low amounts of 5 other synthetic cannabinoids in cardiac blood. A total number of up to 17 synthetic cannabinoids were detected in kidney, liver, urine and hair. Fentanyl and 5F-ADB were also detected in the water of the bucket bong.

conclusionsThe cause of death could be attributed to an acute mixed intoxication by fentanyl and 5F-ADB (both Toxicological Significance Score (TSS) = 3) with a contribution of pregabalin and 5F-MDMB-P7AICA (TSS = 2), in a subject suffering from pre-existing heart damage. The most plausible mechanism of death consists in a respiratory depression. This case report demonstrates that use of opioids in combination with synthetic cannabinoids might be particularly dangerous.

Indexed as

CannabinoidsTandem Mass SpectrometryChromatography, LiquidFentanylHumansPregabalinSmoking5F-ADB cannabinoidCannabinoidsFentanylPregabalinCannabimimeticDrugs of abuseFatalityLethal intoxicationNew psychoactive substances (NPS)Opioids

Identifiers

PMID37300633
PMCPMC10808286
OpenAlexW4380077667

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.