Human Tissue Distribution of Thioridazine During Therapy and After Poisoning

Abstract

The concentrations of thioridazine in body fluids and tissues, as measured by a spectrophotofluorometric method, have been compared in thioridazine-induced fatalities and in deaths of patients on thioridazine therapy that were otherwise unrelated to drugs. A distinct overlap of blood concentrations was apparent for the two groups, although a substantial difference between liver concentrations was observed. We believe that postmortem blood and liver concentrations determined by a fluorometric technique may be used to reach a conclusion as to the cause of death in thioridazine-related fatalities. When parenchymatous tissue is not available, a diagnosis of thioridazine poisoning would best be made on the basis of case history and data obtained with a highly specific analytical technique.