Fatality resulting from metoprolol overdose.

A death due to an intentional overdose of metoprolol is described. The drug was quantified by gas chromatography, and identification was confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Metoprolol concentrations in blood, bile, urine, and vitreous humor were 19.8 mg/L, 83.1 mg/L, 1.6 mg/L, and 15.1 mg/L, respectively. A blood ethanol concentration of 0.25 g/100 mL was the only other significant toxicologic finding.

[Normal and modified nucleobases excreted in urine of patients with chronic nyeloproliferative disorders (author's transl)]. / Die Ausscheidung von normalen und modifizierten Nucleobasen im Urin bein chronischen myeloproliferativen Syndromen.

The qualitative and quantitative analysis by high performance liquid chromatography of the normal and modiefied nucleobases excreted in urine represents a new and versatile tool, especially in oncology. The excretion of 2 normal (adenine, guanine) and 4 modified nucleobases (methylated guanine derivatives) in urine was measured by cation exchange LC. All chronic myeloproliferative syndromes showed highly elevated total excretion values of all determined nucleobases, the "pattern" being characteristic with N2, N2-dimethylguanine most prominent (up to 29.8 S.D. above the pertinent normal value). A follow-up study of a case of CML with two episodes of extreme leukocytosis showed a correlation of the nucleobases excretion with the number of leukocytes. Thus, a method has been established which permits the assessment of myeloproliferation and probably therapy effects.