Prince toxicology report out

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A toxicology report from Prince's autopsy, obtained Monday by The Associated Press, shows he had what multiple experts called an "exceedingly high" concentration of fentanyl in his body when he died.

A confidential toxicology report obtained by the AP provides some insight into just how much fentanyl was in his system. Experts who are not connected to the Prince investigation said the numbers leave no doubt that fentanyl killed him.

"The amount in his blood is exceedingly high, even for somebody who is a chronic pain patient on fentanyl patches," said Dr. Lewis Nelson, chairman of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He called the fentanyl concentrations "a pretty clear smoking gun."


The report says the concentration of fentanyl in Prince's blood was 67.8 micrograms per liter. The report explains that fatalities have been documented in people with blood levels ranging from three to 58 micrograms per liter.

The report also says the level of fentanyl in Prince's liver was 450 micrograms per kilogram, and notes that liver concentrations greater than 69 micrograms per kilogram "seem to represent overdose or fatal toxicity cases."

There was also what experts called a potentially lethal amount of fentanyl in Prince's stomach. Dr. Charles McKay, president of the American College of Medical Toxicology, said generally speaking, the findings suggest Prince took the drug orally, while fentanyl in the blood and liver suggest it had some time to circulate before he died.