Ruiz-Colón Kazandra, Chavez-Arias Carlos, Díaz-Alcalá José Eric, Martínez María A
Puerto Rico Institute of Forensic Sciences, P.O. Box 11878 Caparra Heights Station, San Juan 00922-1878, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico Poison Center, P.O. Box 367212, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Forensic Sci Int. 2014 Jul;240:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2014.03.015. Epub 2014 Mar 26.
Xylazine is not a controlled substance; it is marketed as a veterinary drug and used as a sedative, analgesic and muscle relaxant. In humans, it could cause central nervous system depression, respiratory depression, bradycardia, hypotension, and even death. There have been publications of 43 cases of xylazine intoxication in humans, in which 21 (49%) were non-fatal scenarios and 22 (51%) resulted in fatalities. Most of the non-fatal cases required medical intervention. Over recent years xylazine has emerged as an adulterant in recreational drugs, such as heroin or speedball (a cocaine and heroin mixture). From the 43 reported cases, 17 (40%) were associated with the use of xylazine as an adulterant of drugs of abuse. Its chronic use is reported to be associated with physical deterioration and skin ulceration. Literature shows some similar pharmacologic effects between xylazine and heroin in humans. These similar pharmacologic effects may create synergistic toxic effects in humans. Therefore, fatalities among drug users may increase due to the use of xylazine as an adulterant. Xylazine alone has proven harmful to humans and even more when it is combined with drugs of abuse. A comprehensive review of the literature of non-fatal and fatal xylazine intoxication cases including those in which the substance was used as adulterant is presented, in order to increase the awareness in the forensic community, law enforcement, and public health agencies.
赛拉嗪不是管制药物；它作为兽药销售，用作镇静剂、镇痛药和肌肉松弛剂。在人类中，它可能导致中枢神经系统抑制、呼吸抑制、心动过缓、低血压，甚至死亡。已有关于43例人类赛拉嗪中毒病例的报道，其中21例（49%）为非致命情况，22例（51%）导致死亡。大多数非致命病例需要医疗干预。近年来，赛拉嗪已成为娱乐性药物（如海洛因或速球 [可卡因和海洛因混合物]）中的掺杂物。在报告的43例病例中，17例（40%）与将赛拉嗪用作滥用药物的掺杂物有关。据报道，长期使用赛拉嗪与身体机能衰退和皮肤溃疡有关。文献表明，赛拉嗪和海洛因在人体中具有一些相似的药理作用。这些相似的药理作用可能在人体中产生协同毒性作用。因此，由于将赛拉嗪用作掺杂物，吸毒者中的死亡人数可能会增加。单独使用赛拉嗪已被证明对人类有害，当它与滥用药物混合使用时危害更大。本文对非致命和致命赛拉嗪中毒病例的文献进行了全面综述，包括该物质被用作掺杂物的病例，以提高法医界、执法部门和公共卫生机构的认识。
