Dextromethorphan Ingestion Research Articles

Overzealous over-the-counter cough syrup ingestion leading to serious manifestation in a child – A case report

ABSTRACT Cough is a protective reflex that allows clearance of secretions from upper respiratory tract. It is not a disease by itself but a symptom of underlying disease. In a majority of cases, it is self-limiting and requires only supportive care. But over-the-counter cough syrups are inadvertently used to relieve cough in Indian settings. We hereby report a case of a 6-year-old girl child who presented to pediatrics emergency services with complaints of loss of consciousness and abnormal body movement after ingestion of dextromethorphan and chlorpheniramine containing cough syrup. All investigations including cerebrospinal fluid examination, neuroimaging, and electroencephalogram revealed no significant abnormality. The child was admitted for 5 days and discharged after that in stable conditions.

The Effects of Dextromethorphan on Driving Performance and the Standardized Field Sobriety Test.

Dextromethorphan (DXM) is abused most commonly among adolescents as a recreational drug to generate a dissociative experience. The objective of the study was to assess driving with and without DXM ingestion. The effects of one-time maximum daily doses of DXM 120 mg versus a guaifenesin 400 mg dose were compared among 40 healthy subjects using a crossover design. Subjects' ability to drive was assessed by their performance in a driving simulator (STISIM® Drive driving simulator software) and by conducting a standardized field sobriety test (SFST) administered 1-h postdrug administration. The one-time dose of DXM 120 mg did not demonstrate driving impairment on the STISIM® Drive driving simulator or increase SFST failures compared to guaifenesin 400 mg. Doses greater than the currently recommended maximum daily dose of 120 mg are necessary to perturb driving behavior.

Signs & Symptoms of Dextromethorphan Exposure from YouTube

Detailed data on the recreational use of drugs are difficult to obtain through traditional means, especially for substances like Dextromethorphan (DXM) which are available over-the-counter for medicinal purposes. In this study, we show that information provided by commenters on YouTube is useful for uncovering the toxicologic effects of DXM. Using methods of computational linguistics, we were able to recreate many of the clinically described signs and symptoms of DXM ingestion at various doses, using information extracted from YouTube comments. Our study shows how social networks can enhance our understanding of recreational drug effects.

A 60-year-old woman with agitation and psychosis following ingestion of dextromethorphan and opioid analgesics

A patient presented with agitation, paranoia, and psychosis following ingestion of dextromethorphan, propoxyphene, and hydrocodone, a previously unreported combination. Symptoms resolved with antipsychotics and cessation of offending drugs. The pharmacodynamics of dextromethorphan and the opioids, including drug interactions are discussed, and several potential mechanisms for the production of the patient's symptoms are proposed.

Development and Validation of ELISA and GC-MS Procedures for the Quantification of Dextromethorphan and its Main Metabolite Dextrorphan in Urine and Oral Fluid

The development of a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry confirmation method for the detection of dextromethorphan and its major metabolite dextrorphan in urine and oral fluid is described. For the screening assay, the intraday precision was less than 8% for urine and less than 5% for oral fluid. The interday precision was less than 10% for both drugs in urine and oral fluid. For the confirmatory procedure, both inter- and intraday precision was less than 5% for both matrices. The detection limit for both methods was 1 ng/mL. The quantifying ions chosen from the full scan mass spectra were m/z 271 for dextromethorphan, m/z 329 for dextrorphan, and m/z 332 for tri-deuterated dextrorphan-d(3). A high recovery yield (> 93%) from the Quantisal oral fluid collection device was achieved, and the drugs were stable in the collection device for at least 10 days at room temperature. The extracted drugs from both matrices were stable for at least 48 h while kept at room temperature. Both screening and confirmatory procedures were applied to authentic urine and oral fluid specimens obtained from volunteers following therapeutic ingestion of dextromethorphan.

Serotonin Syndrome in Dextromethorphan Ingestion Responsive to Propofol Therapy

An 18-year-old male developed a severe serotonin syndrome after recreational ingestion of Coricidin HBP (chlorpheniramine 4 mg and dextromethorphan hydrobromide 30 mg). Propofol infusion rapidly normalized his agitation, neuromuscular hyperactivity, and autonomic instability. Confirmatory analysis demonstrated a dextromethorphan serum concentration of 930 ng/mL. Dextromethorphan can produce serotonin syndrome in the absence of another serotonergic drug.

Massive dextromethorphan ingestion and abuse

The case of a 23-year-old man who was acutely intoxicated on dextromethorphan and who was chronically addicted to the drug is described. He consumed the highest daily dose for the longest duration yet reported in the world's English-language medical literature. Toxicity, abuse potential, and therapy of dextromethorphan intoxication are discussed.