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1st appeared 2 June 1998 Physician Awareness Urged on "GHB" Overdose Cases Users of the recreational drug GHB who overdose show distinct clinical characteristics that physicians need to recognize in order to provide proper treatment, according to a new study. "GHB has potentially life-threatening toxic effects, and these patients present in a profound coma with a markedly decreased level of consciousness that is unlike other types of overdose," said Karl Sporer, an assistant professor of medicine at UCSF. "From our experience with a large number of cases, we've gained clinical information that could be useful to physicians in other parts of the country where isolated GHB cases are showing up," added Sporer, who specializes in emergency medicine at SFGH. He is lead author of a new study on GHB overdoses published in the June issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine. The chemical name for GHB is gamma-hydroxybutyrate. The drug is especially popular in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, according to Sporer. It often is available in after-hours clubs and rave parties as a white powder that is dissolved in water, resulting in a salty tasting liquid. Users have reported a sense of euphoria and enhanced sexual effects and no hangover. Because a GHB overdose causes the user to lose consciousness, the drug has been implicated as a "date rape" product, he said. The overdose is characterized by a profound coma along with a normal respiratory rate, but often accompanied by slow heart rate, low body temperature, and vomiting. In the 1960s, GHB was used as a medical anesthetic, and in the '80s it was sold in health food stores as a product to induce sleep and as a body-building aid. The Food and Drug Administration banned over-the-counter sale of the drug several years ago because of concerns about consumer safety. At present, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency is reviewing GHB for addition to its list of controlled substances. source: Corinna Kaarlela, News Services |
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