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Hexahydrocannabinol poisoning reported to French poison centres

M. Labadie, A. Nardon, N. Castaing, C. Bragança, A. Daveluy, J. Gaulier, S. El Balkhi, Marike Grenouillet

Clinical toxicology, 2024

15 participants · 10 citations

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Hexahydrocannabinol is a hexahydro derivative of cannabinol. Poisoning with hexahydrocannabinol was first observed in Europe in May 2022. Method This is a retrospective observational study of cases of self-reported hexahydrocannabinol exposure reported to French poison centres between 1 January 2022 and 31 May 2023. Results There were 37 cases, including 19 in May 2023. The median age of the patients was 36 (interquartile range 28–43) years, and most were men. Eight patients had a history of substance use disorder. The route of exposure was ingestion in 24, inhalation (smoking or vaping) in 10, inhalation and ingestion in two and sublingual in one. Clinical features were neurological (85 per cent), cardiovascular (61 per cent), gastrointestinal (33 per cent), psychiatric (27 per cent) and ocular (21 per cent). Fifty-nine per cent of the patients were hospitalized. In four patients, the Poisoning Severity Score was 0 (asymptomatic); in 15 patients, the Score was 1 (minor); in 16, the Score was 2 (moderate); and in two cases, the Score was 3 (severe). In 70 per cent of patients, the outcome was known, and all recovered. Testing of biological samples was only undertaken in six cases. Five patients had positive blood or urine tests for hexahydrocannabinol; in two patients, tetrahydrocannabinol and metabolites were also detected. In addition, there was an additional patient in whom Δ8- and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol was detected in the substances used.…

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