Analysis and correlation of synthetic cannabinoids at postmortem nasal swabs and hair samples

Objective: Although nasal swabs are often taken from postmortem samples at council of forensic medicine, it is important to analyze the hair samples in terms of chronic exposure. Material and Methods: Nasal swabs and scalp hair from vertex posterior were sampled from 35 postmortem cases. Results: Multidrug uptake was observed in postmortem cases and all cases were male except one. Synthetic cannabinoids, cocaine, MDMA, opioids, benzodiazepines and other drugs have been found. Attention has been paid to the link between addictive substances and increased lung tissue weights. Since nasal swabs were valuable for acute poisoning and hair analysis for chronic poisoning, there was no correlation between them. However, prolonged use of the substances resulted in death after overdose and compatibility between the nasal swab and hair samples. Conclusion: Although the importance of nasal swabs for forensic toxicological analysis is known, hair analysis is not frequently used. This situation may only shed light on cases of acute intoxication but may present difficulties in assessing chronic exposures. In this thesis, the importance of the routine examination of hair samples for toxicological analysis in postmortem cases in the Forensic Medicine Institution was emphasized. Keywords: Postmortem Forensic Toxicology, Synthetic Cannabinoid, Nasal Swab, Hair