Abstract
Introduction
Many countries have specific legislation, such as the Controlled Substances Act (1970) in the United States and the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) in the United Kingdom to control recreational drugs. There is a growing market and supply of “novel” recreational drugs, which include the misuse of pharmaceutical compounds and research chemicals. These are often not covered under current legislation, despite the fact that they often have both similar chemical structures and/or clinical effects to controlled recreational drugs.
Case Report
A male patient presented to an emergency department with delayed of severe agitation, hallucinations, and tonic-clonic seizures following the use of Bromo-dragonFLY and an unknown white powder. He settled following IV benzodiazepines and supportive care, and was discharged with no evidence to long-term sequelae: Analysis of the white powder by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry (UV/VIS) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) showed the presence of Bromo-dragonFLY (1-(8-bromobenzol[1,2-b;4,5-b’]difuran-4-yl)-2-aminopropane); serum analysis by GC/MS and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)_confirmed that a combination of Bromo-dragonFLY (0.95 ng/mL). ketamine (20 ng/mL) and canabis had been used by the patient. No other recreational drugs were detected in an extensive toxicological screen of serum and urine samples.
Discussion
This is the first confirmed case to be reported of toxicity with delayed onset of severe agitation, hallucinations and tonic-clonic seizures associated with recreational use of Bromo-dragonFLY (1-(8-bromobenzol[1,2-b;4,5-b’]difuran-4-yl)-2-aminopropane) in combination with ketamine and cannabis. In our view, this case provides further support for the need for a systematic approach to toxicological screening of patients with recreational drug toxicity, to identify emerging drugs and provide evidence for legislative authorities to assist in revising the legal status of emerging recreational drugs.
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Notes: This case report has not previously been presented. D.W. and P.D. have acted as scientific advisors to the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). There was no outside funding of any kind used for this study. The authors have no potential financial conflicts of interest to report.
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Wood, D.M., Looker, J.J., Shaikh, L. et al. Delayed onset of seizures and toxicity associated with recreational use of Bromo-dragonFLY. J. Med. Toxicol. 5, 226–229 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03178273
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03178273