Psychotropic prescription drugs are commonly involved in intoxication events. The study’s aim was to determine a comparative risk for intoxication in relation to prescribing rates for individual drugs. This was a nationwide observational study...
30 October 2020
Drug abuse (cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and synthetic drugs) is an increasing phenomenon, especially in the younger population, thus leading to more cases of intoxication requiring evaluation in the emergency department and subsequent hospitalization...
Background/Objectives: Acute drug intoxications (ADIs) are a significant concern in pediatric healthcare, contributing to both accidental and intentional morbidity. This study aimed to analyze the demographic, clinical, and therapeutic characteristic...
31 January 2020
(1) Medical research has shown an increasing interest in machine learning, permitting massive multivariate data analysis. Thus, we developed drug intoxication mortality prediction models, and compared machine learning models and traditional logistic...
Zolpidem is a widely prescribed hypnotic Z-drug used to treat short-term insomnia. However, a growing number of individuals intentionally overdose on these drugs. This study aimed to develop a predictive tool for physicians to assess patients with zo...
Background: Alcohol and drugs are the most common causes of acute intoxications in children. The aim of our study was to determine changes in hospitalizations for acute intoxications, especially acute alcohol intoxications (AAIs), among children aged...
The Portuguese Poison Information Center (from Portuguese—CIAV) is a call center that offers medical assistance in case of possible intoxication with any kind of product, including medicines. This center´s main goal is to inform and guide...
26 October 2020
Background: This study provides insight into the impact of methamphetamine precursor regulation, which is considered to be one of the most important tools of supply reduction and a tool with potential public health impact. Methods: It is based on a l...
Introduction: Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs), ciclosporin and tacrolimus, are utilized primarily in organ transplantation and the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Since patients depend on these drugs over long periods, they face a potential risk of i...
We report the case of a young man, a former heroin addict, found dead at home by the Police Forces in an advanced state of decomposition. Numerous blisters and unpacked tablets of medications were found all over the bed and on the floor of the room....
The best evidence provided in the literature worldwide suggests the importance of harmonizing the investigation in drug-related fatalities. In this study, the application of a multidisciplinary approach in eight cases of drug-related deaths is presen...
Background/Objective: Hepatic drug intoxication is becoming increasingly common with the increasing use of chronic medications. Piperine has emerged as a promising alternative for protecting the liver against drug-induced injury. We evaluated the pro...
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; commonly referred to as “Molly” or “ecstasy”) is a synthetic compound, structurally and pharmacologically similar to both amphetamines and mescaline. MDMA differs somewhat from traditio...
Abusing intoxicating substances such as alcohol and drugs in the construction industry poses a serious threat to the safety of workers. It is a pervasive problem that often results in fatal accidents and other relevant risks. This paper aimed to inve...
Radical drug therapy for schizophrenia is usually hard to achieve with one currently available antipsychotic agent. Indeed, it is the negative symptoms of this morbidity that are a dilemma to neutralize. Most of the first-generation agents can deal w...
Purpose: To assess (I) whether, in autopsy-proven lethal intoxications with opiates/opioids, a dilatation of the common bile duct (CBD) is still visible in postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) and (II) if a dilatation of the CBD might also be measur...
Acute intoxications related to recreational drug use represent an increasing challenge for emergency departments (EDs). Worldwide, more than 600,000 deaths are attributable each year to illicit drug consumption, and in Switzerland approximately 190 d...
Mitochondria are central organelles in the homeostasis of the cardiovascular system via the integration of several physiological processes, such as ATP generation via oxidative phosphorylation, synthesis/exchange of metabolites, calcium sequestration...
Both inflammation and smoking can influence a drug’s pharmacokinetic properties, i.e., its liberation, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. Depending on, e.g., pharmacogenetics, these changes may alter treatment response or cause se...
Adulteration is a well-known practice of drug manufacturers at different stages of drug production. The intentional addition of active ingredients to adulterate the primary drug may enhance or mask pharmacological effects or may produce more potent d...
Illicit drug use is common among attendees of electronic dance music (EDM) festivals, but is often significantly underreported by participants. The current study aimed to compare the prevalence and over- and under-reporting of illicit drug use among...
Cytotoxic necrotizing factors from E. coli (CNF1, CNF2) and Yersinia (CNFy) share N-terminal sequence similarity with Pasteurella multocida toxin (PMT). This common N-terminal region harbors the receptor-binding and translocation domains that mediate...
Background/Objectives: Poisonings among children are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and present a significant challenge for emergency medical services (EMS). The aim of this study was to analyze the types of substances causing poi...
Betablockers are one of the most frequently used medications in cardiology. They can lead to fatal drops in blood pressure and heart rhythm disturbances. Death is functional, and poisoning with this group of drugs can be difficult to detect. The liqu...
Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is a potent, short-acting central nervous system depressant as well as an inhibitory neurotransmitter or neuromodulator derived from gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a major inhibitory neurotransmitter. The sodium salt...
Diagnosing the cause of fatal intoxication by antipsychotic agents is an important task in forensic practice. In the 2020 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, among 40 deaths caused by antipsychotics, 21 cases were dia...
This Special Issue addresses the challenges faced in detecting the exposure and intoxications of various (recreative) drugs and novel active psychoactive drugs [...]
Drug and substance abuse is a contemporary problem among the youth and has reached crises levels in the nation of Zimbabwe. The problem has been compounded by acute socio-economic challenges that have characterised the nation for the past decade. Des...
It is well established that a wide range of drugs of abuse acutely boost the signaling of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, where norepinephrine and epinephrine are major output molecules. This stimulat...
A 60-year-old woman, known for illicit drug use and treated for severe depression was found unconscious at her home with a body temperature 24.5 °C due to intoxication of opiates and multiple psychotropic drugs (flurazepam, citalopram, levomepromazin...
Clostridioides difficile infections cause severe symptoms ranging from diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis due to the secretion of AB-toxins, TcdA and TcdB. Both toxins are taken up into cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis, autoproteolytic p...
In recent years, an innovative approach has emerged in the field of toxicology for managing acute intoxications caused by lipophilic substances: intravenous lipid emulsions (ILEs). Through numerous experiments and case reports, the efficacy of lipid...
The chameleon can disguise itself in nature by taking on different colors and forms. As synthetic cannabinoids (SC) have clinically similar effects to those of several psychoactive agents, they are one of the most difficult intoxications to diagnose....
Introduction: Alcohol is the most common psychoactive substance among young people. The use of psychoactive substances gives rise to a number of health, social, moral and economic problems. The aim of the study was to characterise the symptoms report...
Introduction: Synthetic cathinones are a group of novel psychoactive substances used as an alternative to classical recreational drugs. As a result of legal prohibitions on older generations of these compounds, new formulations appeared on the drug m...
In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic in March 2020. Stringent measures decreased consumption of some drugs, moving the illicit marke...
7 April 2022
Legal highs are new psychoactive substances (NPSs) which pose a high risk for human health, and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has changed peoples’ behaviours, including the demand for NPS. The aim of the study was to assess both the fre...
The recreational use of opioid drugs is a global threat to public health and safety. In particular, an epidemic of opioid overdose fatalities is being driven by illicitly manufactured fentanyl, while novel synthetic opioids (NSOs) are appearing on re...
Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant drug with multiple mechanisms of action, which condition the presence of a characteristic clinical picture after the overingestion of the drug. We expose a case report about a patient who, in the context of an attem...
We have previously reported that the activation of astrocytes and microglia may lead to the overproduction of proinflammatory mediators, which could induce neuroinflammation and cause brain edema in 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE)-intoxicated mice. In t...
Background and objectives: This study assesses electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use and its relationship with smoking and alcohol and illicit drug consumption among Romanian university students. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study using...
New psychoactive substances (NPSs) are a heterogenous group of psychotropic molecules and diverted pharmaceutical drugs sold worldwide as legal substitutes for controlled drugs. The psychiatric consequences of NPS use are relatively unknown, although...
Fatal intoxication with sedative-hypnotic drugs is increasing yearly. However, the plasma drug concentration data for fatal intoxication involving these substances are not systematic and even overlap with the intoxication group. Therefore, developing...
Background and Objectives: Acute poisoning is a frequent cause of pediatric emergency department visits and represents a significant public health issue, with children particularly vulnerable due to developmental and behavioral factors. This study ai...
Bile has emerged as an alternative matrix for toxicological investigation of drugs in suspected forensic cases of overdose in adults and intoxications in children. Toxicological investigation consists in screening and, subsequently, confirming the re...
Over the past decade, quetiapine has become one of the most commonly used psychotropic drugs in acute intoxication events worldwide. A structured literature review and analysis were conducted to assess the relationship between the kinetic and dynamic...
Background: Nigella sativa, known as black cumin, is traditionally used to treat various illnesses. Objective: The current study aims to investigate the potential hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effect of black cumin fractions via per os r...
5 March 2016
The treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD) with sodium oxybate (SMO) or gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) was introduced in Italy and Austria more than 20 years and 15 years ago, respectively, and it is now widely employed to treat alcohol withdrawal...
The therapeutic efficacy of treatments for acute intoxication with highly toxic organophosphorus compounds, called nerve agents, usually involves determination of LD50 values 24 h after nerve agent challenge without and with a single administration o...
Fentanyl is an opioid with powerful analgesic effects and a high speed of action. Due to its pharmacological properties, this molecule has therapeutic application as an anesthetic in surgery or as palliative therapy for cancer patients. Unfortunately...
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