DailySugar

« Britney left hospital and is fine | Main | Nicole Kidman is pregnant! »

March 26, 2007

Anna Nicole died of accidental drug overdose

Nearly two months after Anna Nicole Smith tragic death, the official toxicology and autopsy reports were released this morning.

According to the reports, the Playboy Playmate died of an accidental overdose of a sleeping medication and at least eight other prescription drugs, and she had recently had a bacterial infection from injecting drugs into her buttocks, authorities said Monday.

Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said Smith died of “combined drug intoxication” with the sleeping medication chloral hydrate as the major factor.

She had been taking a lengthy list of medications, including methadone for pain and valium, but those drugs were at therapeutic levels, he said. A bacterial infection from injecting medication in her buttocks and the flu contributed to her death, according to the report.

Chloral hydrate is a sedative used to treat insomnia and alcohol withdrawal, relieve anxiety and ease post-surgery pain.

The drug is rarely prescribed and is known to be fatal if combined with certain other drugs — including the sedative Lorazepam, which the autopsy showed she was taking, said Dr. Chip Walls, a forensic toxicologist for the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami.

“It’s very toxic if you mix it with any other central nervous system depressant drugs,” Walls said. “You could get profound sedation leading up to coma and respiratory arrest.”

Perper said Smith also had been on several antidepressant and antianxiety drugs and had recently taken longevity medications, vitamin B12 and growth hormone. An assistant medical examiner’s report described seeing a table in Smith’s hotel room containing cold medicine, sodas cans, SlimFast, nicotine gum and an open box of Tamiflu tablets.

“We found nothing to indicate any foul play,” said Chief Charlie Tiger of the Seminole police department.

If you like this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Filed in Anna Nicole Smith

.....

Previous Entries