Prevalence of levamisole and aminorex in patients tested positive for cocaine in a French University Hospital

AbstractContext. The prevalence of levamisole in urine samples of subjects positive for cocaine in the US was estimated at 78% (95%confidence interval or CI: 73%–83%). However, levamisole was not quantified, and at the time of this report, aminorex was not known to be a possible metabolite of levamisole in human. Moreover no data are available in Europe. Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and concentration of levamisole and aminorex in positive cocaine urine toxicology tests, and in serum samples of cocaine-positive subjects driving under the influence of drugs or forensic autopsies. Materials and methods. Consecutive urine toxicology samples tested positive for cocaine by immunoassay (EMIT, Siemens) from April to May 2014 at the toxicology laboratory of a French University Hospital, and blood samples of cocaine-positive subjects driving under the influence of drugs or forensic autopsies from April to December 2014 were analyzed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectromet...