An Unusual Homicide Involving Strangulation after Transdermal Fentanyl and Buprenorphine Intoxication

An Unusual Homicide Involving Strangulation after Transdermal Fentanyl and Buprenorphine Intoxication

Fentanyl and buprenorphine are powerful opioids used for the induction of anesthesia as well as for severe pain management.Transdermal fentanyl and buprenorphine patches are widely used for outpatient management of chronic pain. However several cases of deaths connected with their administration have been described in literature. We present an unusual and exceptional homicidal death attributed to a combination system of acute transdermal opioids poisoning and strangulation. The concentration of the drugs and their metabolites in femoral blood and urine were capable of causing fatal intoxication. This manner of complex homicide raises the question of the importance of mechanisms involved.