Trends in Illicit Drug Emergencies: The Emerging Role of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate

TLDR: Health authorities must be aware of the hazards of recreational γ-hydroxybutyrate, and physicians must be cognizant of this recent cause of coma among youths presenting to the emergency departments.

Abstract: Background: Previously used as a general anesthetic, γ-hydroxybutyrate is now used as a recreational drug. Not surprisingly, an increasing number of acute overdose cases requiring emergency medical care have been reported and described, especially in the United States. Objectives: To determine the number and percentage of γ-hydroxybutyrate overdoses over a 15-month period and to describe the clinical hallmarks and course of this new drug in overdose. Methods: All toxicological emergencies, including those caused by illicit drug consumption, were recorded for 15 months in an urban public hospital emergency department. Accurate toxicological history was obtained from the patients and, if γ-hydroxybutyrate was suspected, confirmation was performed by urine mass spectrometry. The study data were compared with data recorded in the same emergency department in 1989. Results: The total number of toxicological emergencies attended in our emergency department have remained unchanged during the last decade, with a ...