Postmortem femoral venous blood concentrations, redistribution and toxicity of duloxetine

Clicks: 4
ID: 339138
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #69 of 69 articles by views in journal of analytical toxicology

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Duloxetine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), is widely prescribed for depression, anxiety, neuropathic pain, and other chronic pain conditions. Its pharmacokinetics show substantial interindividual variability due to sex, age, smoking, and CYP2D6 metabolism. Postmortem (PM) interpretation is further complicated by unknown blood-to-plasma distribution and significant postmortem redistribution. This study analyzed duloxetine concentrations in 2006-2026 Finnish forensic cases (N = 798), including fatal poisonings, polysubstance intoxications, and incidental findings. The median PM concentration of femoral venous blood samples was 0.16 mg/L, close to the upper therapeutic range of clinical plasma samples, while the mean concentration (0.33 mg/L) was twice as high. Based on our studies and data from the literature, toxic concentrations began at approximately 0.6 mg/L and fatal concentrations at 1-2 mg/L. In 13 fatal duloxetine poisonings, concentrations ranged from 0.46 to 9 mg/L, representing suicides and accidental over-dosing. In cases with both antemortem (AM) and PM samples, PM levels were on average 110% higher, indicating slight redistribution. Drug-drug interactions involving CYP2D6 inhibitors or substrates were present in several cases but did not fully explain the highest duloxetine concentrations. These findings highlight the need for cautious interpretation of PM duloxetine levels, especially in polysubstance intoxications and in individuals with impaired metabolism.
Reference Key
openalex_W7225390902 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Raimo A. Ketola, Margareeta Häkkinen
Are you one of these authors? Claim your profile
Journal journal of analytical toxicology
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/jat/bkag095
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/bkag095
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.