Liquid ecstasy poisoning: study of 22 cases

BACKGROUND: TO describe characteristics of acute poisoning with liquid ecst asy (gammahydroxybutyrate, GHB). PATIENTS AND METHOD: Epidemiological and clinical data of patients with acu te GHB poisoning seen at emergency department (ED) along one year were coll ected. RESULTS: 22 patients were included. Typical profile corresponds to a young male, who consults on weekend, at night, complaining of a marked decreased level of conciousness. Patients refer coingestion of other drugs and tipica lly regain conciousness spontaneously in a short time. CONCLUSION: The frequency of GHB poisoning has increased notably in our env ironment. GHB poisoning must be considered on the differential diagnostic o f coma of unknown origin in young patients attended in ED.