Unit of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Excellence of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona.
Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Policlinico Riuniti Foggia, Foggia.
Clin Ter. 2021 Jan-Feb;171(1):e49-e51. doi: 10.7417/CT.2021.2280.
Intoxications related to γ-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), arising from its success as recreational drug due to its psychotropic properties, are significantly and alarmingly jeopardizing public health, posing major challenges to medical staff. In recent years, GHB's prodrug γ-butyrolactone (GBL) has often supplanted GHB in recreational settings, owing to its lower cost and the ease with which it can be obtained, mainly due to its various legal industrial applications. The Authors intend to stress that symptoms should be assessed and confirmed by timely toxicological analyses by highly-trained, expert professionals. Such tests aimed at analytical confirmation are instrumental in providing physicians valuable indications in terms of the proper pharmacological treatments in order to revert the adverse, or even fatal, side effects, particularly when the overall intoxication picture looks ambiguous. At the time being, little is known about the pharmacological therapies effective in GHB intoxication cases; further comprehensive research is therefore essential, if we are to tackle such a burgeoning public health emergency before it is too late.
γ-羟基丁酸（GHB）相关中毒，因其具有致幻特性而在娱乐性药物方面取得成功，正严重威胁着公众健康，给医务人员带来了重大挑战。近年来，由于成本更低，且更容易获得，GHB 的前体 γ-丁内酯（GBL）在娱乐场所中经常取代 GHB。其主要原因是 GBL 具有各种合法的工业应用。作者旨在强调，症状应通过经过培训的专家进行及时的毒理学分析来评估和确认。此类旨在进行分析确认的检测对于为医生提供有价值的治疗方案非常重要，以便逆转不良甚至致命的副作用，特别是当整体中毒情况看起来不明确时。目前，对于 GHB 中毒病例的有效药理学治疗方法知之甚少；因此，如果我们要在为时过晚之前解决这种日益严重的公共卫生紧急情况，就需要进行进一步的全面研究。
