Objective: Cocaine toxicity frequently manifests as seizures and status epi
lepticus. Frequently, dextrose is administered to patients with cocaine-ind
uced seizures. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of pre
-existing hyperglycemia on cocaine neurotoxicity and death in mice. Methods
: Swiss albino mice received intraperitoneal dextrose at a dose of 1 g/kg (
12.5%) (hyperglycemic group, n = 98). The euglycemic group (n = 98) receive
d an equal volume of 0.9% saline. After 60 minutes, all the animals receive
d intraperitoneal cocaine at a dose of 90 mg/kg. The times to onset of atax
ia, seizure, and death were recorded in seconds. Times to events were compa
red using a Kaplan-Meier method and results were compared using the log-ran
k test. The overall percentage outcomes were compared using chi-square. Res
ults: The ataxia rates (hyperglycemic 97%, euglycemic 97%, chi(2) = 0, p =
1), seizure rates (hyperglycemic 85%, euglycemic 82%, chi(2) = 0.292, p = 0
.589), and survival rates (hyperglycemic 62%, euglycemic 51%, chi(2) = 0.25
14, p = 0.113) were similar between the groups. The survival following a se
izure was significantly higher in the hyperglycemic group (hyperglycemic 57
%, euglycemic 41%, chi(2) = 4.439, p = 0.035). The median ataxia time was e
arlier in the hyperglycemic group (190 sec) than in the euglycemic group (1
66 sec) (p = 0.031). Seizures occurred no earlier in the hyperglycemic grou
p (331 sec) than in the euglycemic group (342 sec) (p = 0.207). Survival ti
mes were not different for the hyperglycemic group (9,133 sec) and the eugl
ycemic group (7,593 sec) (p = 0.394). Survival times following seizures wer
e not different for the hyperglycemic group (8,095 sec) and the euglycemic
group (5,816 sec) (p = 0.0752). Conclusions: In mice with pre-existing hype
rglycemia, ataxia occurred earlier and survival following cocaine-induced s
eizures was longer than for euglycemic mice. No significant difference in t
he overall percentage of seizures and death was detected. Pre-existing hype
rglycemia had minimal effect on worsening cocaine toxicity in mice.