SAGE Journals Online
Advertisement
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Advertisement

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Human & Experimental Toxicology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dupont, P
Right arrow Articles by Thornton, J
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dupont, P
Right arrow Articles by Thornton, J
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Near-fatal gamma-butyrolactone intoxication—first report in the UK

P Dupont

J Thornton

Department of Medicine, Ashford Hospital NHS Trust, London Road, Middlesex, UK

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a compound used in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal, narcolepsy, and for induction of anaesthesia. It is also contained in many products illegally marketed as "dietary supplements" and is increasingly being recognised as a potential drug of abuse. We report the case of a 44-year-old man who suffered coma and life-threatening respiratory depression following an accidental overdose of the GHB prodrug, gamma-butyro-lactone (GBL), contained in a "health drink". He made a full recovery following appropriate supportive treatment. GHB toxicity should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with altered mental state, particularly where there is a history of recreational drug abuse.

Key Words: gamma-butyrolactone • gamma-hydroxybutyric acid • GHB • GBL • overdose

Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 20, No. 1, 19-22 (2001)
DOI: 10.1191/096032701666142043
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 QJMHome page
D.M. Wood, C. Warren-Gash, T. Ashraf, S.L. Greene, Z. Shather, C. Trivedy, S. Clarke, J. Ramsey, D.W. Holt, and P.I. Dargan
Medical and legal confusion surrounding gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its precursors gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4BD)
QJM, January 1, 2008; 101(1): 23 - 29.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Advertisement