Characteristics and dose‐effect relationship of clinical gamma‐hydroxybutyrate intoxication: A case series
Abstract
Gamma‐Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) overdoses cause respiratory depression, coma, or even death. Symptoms and severity of poisoning depend on blood‐concentrations and individual factors such as tolerance. A retrospective case study was conducted, evaluating GHB intoxication cases. GHB‐concentrations in blood and urine were determined by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) along with, in part, via enzymatic assay. GHB‐concentrations, demographic data, and additional drug use, as well as specific clinical information, were evaluated. The correlation between GHB‐levels in blood and associated symptoms were examined. In total, 75 cases originating from the Emergency Departments (EDs) of Hamburg and surrounding hospitals were included. Fifty‐four of the patients (72%) were male. The mean GHB‐concentration in blood was 248 mg/L (range 21.5–1418 mg/L). Out of the group with detailed clinical information (n = 18), the comatose group (n = 10/18) showed a mean of 244 mg/L (range 136–403 mg/L), which was higher than that of the somnolent and awake patients. Of the comatose collective, 70% (n = 7) showed co‐use of one or more substances, with the additional use of cocaine being the most frequently detected (n = 5). In conclusion, a moderate dose‐effect relationship was observed, although, there was some overlap in dosage concentration levels of GHB in awake and comatose patients. In GHB‐intoxication cases, co‐use was common as were clinical effects such as acidosis, hypotension, and…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a case series, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health. Reported size: 18 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The Matrisome: In Silico Definition and In Vivo Characterization by Proteomics of Normal and Tumor Extracellular Matrices
- The Escherichia coli MG1655 in silico metabolic genotype: Its definition, characteristics, and capabilities
- In silico pharmacology for drug discovery: methods for virtual ligand screening and profiling
- In silico prediction of splice-altering single nucleotide variants in the human genome
- In silico clinical trials: how computer simulation will transform the biomedical industry
- In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.