Validation of an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 16 drugs and metabolites in hair in the context of driving license granting.

The use of psychoactive substances has been associated with increased risk for traffic accidents. Hair testing has become a routine practice in clinical and forensic toxicological laboratories, with a unique perspective in the investigation of drug consumption. The study aimed to develop and validate a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of multiple drugs in hair, to be used for toxicological examination in driving license granting. Sample preparation was a one-step liquid extraction of milled hair with methanol, which was incubated for 15h at 50°C. The chromatographic separation was performed in a reversed phase column, with a run time of 2.2min. Measured compounds were cocaine, benzoylecgonine, norcocaine, anhydroecgonine methyl ester, cocaethylene, amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxyamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, fenproporex, amfepramone, mazindol, codeine, morphine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, and tetrahydrocannabinol. The assay was linear for all substances (r>0.99), accurate (86.63-105.87 %), and precise, with a cv ranging from 1.9-13.5 % for intra-assay and 3.3-14.3 % for inter-assay. There was no significant carry over effect and the internal standard corrected matrix effect was minimal. The relative uncertainty percentages were below 9% for all the substances at cut-off values. The method was successfully applied to 50 hair samples from injured drivers, with 12% of positivity, including cocaine, MDMA and THC.

Phase Angle as a Sarcopenia Marker in Hospitalized Elderly Patients.

BACKGROUND: Phase angle (PhA) has been proposed as a parameter to predict clinical outcomes and mortality for various diseases. Several studies have considered it an important nutrition assessment tool. However, the usefulness of this parameter as a sarcopenia marker has not yet been evaluated. This study was developed to evaluate the performance of PhA as a sarcopenia marker in hospitalized elderly patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study involving elderly patients admitted to a hospital in northeastern Brazil. The PhA was obtained from resistance and reactance measurements by bioelectrical impedance. Sarcopenia was defined as a decrease in muscle mass associated with a reduced muscle strength or physical performance. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 148 patients with a mean age of 71.6 (±7.6) years and a 62.8% prevalence of sarcopenia. The average PhA was 5.9 ± 2.0°, similar for men and women (5.9 ± 2.3 vs 5.9 ± 1.8; P = .946). In men, sarcopenic patients had a lower average PhA (5.6 ± 2.3°) when compared with patients without this condition (6.8 ± 1.9°; P = .024). When comparing the value of PhA regarding the degree of sarcopenia, it was found that patients from both sexes with severe sarcopenia had lower averages. The PhA had a low predictive capacity in relation to the diagnostic components of sarcopenia (physical performance, muscle mass, and strength). CONCLUSION: PhA was an inaccurate marker to identify sarcopenia and presented low predictive capacity to explain muscle mass, muscle strength, and functional capacity, components involved in the diagnosis of sarcopenia.