GHB is currently under legal control in a number of countries. Because of that, pushers and users have switched to two GHB precursors, GBL and 1,4-BD, which can still be legally purchased. GBL has become a growing public health issue because it is relatively cheap and easy to obtain, due to its many industrial uses. Here, we report a case involving a 31-year-old male, who consumed, during a sexual intercourse with more partners (chemsex), a colorless liquid sold as “G”, and shortly after experienced adverse effects never felt before. Segmental hair analysis highlighted exogenous GHB concentration in six segments of 1 cm each (range: 27.2–23.9 ng/mg). Classic drugs of abuse and some new psychoactive substances were also found in te fist and last hair segment. A toxicological analysis of the liquid was performed and it highlighted the presence of GBL (982 g/L) and GHB (0.9 g/L), slightly higher than those reported in literature. The high variability of concentration of GBL illegal liquid preparations increases the risk of severe intoxication as in the case here presented.
The health threat of γ-butyrolactone (GBL): Hair analysis in a case of intoxication / Ciarimboli, E.; Pirani, F.; Beck, R.; Zaami, S.. - In: TOXICOLOGIE ANALYTIQUE ET CLINIQUE. - ISSN 2352-0086. - 32:4(2020), pp. 315-318. [10.1016/j.toxac.2020.06.001]
The health threat of γ-butyrolactone (GBL): Hair analysis in a case of intoxication
Pirani F.;
2020-01-01
Abstract
GHB is currently under legal control in a number of countries. Because of that, pushers and users have switched to two GHB precursors, GBL and 1,4-BD, which can still be legally purchased. GBL has become a growing public health issue because it is relatively cheap and easy to obtain, due to its many industrial uses. Here, we report a case involving a 31-year-old male, who consumed, during a sexual intercourse with more partners (chemsex), a colorless liquid sold as “G”, and shortly after experienced adverse effects never felt before. Segmental hair analysis highlighted exogenous GHB concentration in six segments of 1 cm each (range: 27.2–23.9 ng/mg). Classic drugs of abuse and some new psychoactive substances were also found in te fist and last hair segment. A toxicological analysis of the liquid was performed and it highlighted the presence of GBL (982 g/L) and GHB (0.9 g/L), slightly higher than those reported in literature. The high variability of concentration of GBL illegal liquid preparations increases the risk of severe intoxication as in the case here presented.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
