Diagnosis and management of the patient with contaminated illicit drug poisoning

Abstract

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The diagnosis and management of poisoning is essential in critical care medicine. Traditionally, these conditions fall under the category of toxidromes that are the signs and symptoms associated with a particular class of poisons. However, there has been a steady increase in designer drugs and contaminants of recreational drugs themselves. Examples of adulterants in cocaine include the local anesthetic benzocaine and the anti-parasitic levamisole. This paper presents the clinical signs, laboratory findings, and treatment of patients who have been exposed to these substances.

Keywords

• adulterants
• cocaine
• toxicity
• cathinones
• cannabis
• illicit drugs