“Flakka” Intoxication: What have We Learned?

Abstract

See, stats, and : https : / / www . researchgate . net / publication / 322698508 " Flakka " Intoxication : What ? Article DOI : 10 . 21767 / 2471 - 853X . 100071 CITATIONS 0 7 , including : Some : Identification PostMortem Barry NMS 149 , 162 SEE All . The . Abstract Between 2014 and 2015 an outbreak of bizarre behavior and cases of excited delirium in South Florida reported in local , national and international media accounts , brought attention to the use of flakka . During that period more than 60 deaths from flakka intoxication were reported throughout the region . Treatment and intervention of potentially flakka intoxicated patients was complicated by the infrequent testing in health centers to confirm the drug ' s identity as reported by users or concerned others , and the challenges of determining the toxicology of the drug itself . The study described in this article reports on suspected " flakka " intoxications of patients treated at Broward Health Medical Center ' s Emergency Department , in Ft Lauderdale , to correlate the clinical presentation and toxicological analysis of the substances used in " flakka " . The subjects ' oral fluid samples were extensively analyzed by liquid chromatography , and time of flight mass spectrometry for therapeutic , recreational and novel psychoactive drugs . All six subjects recruited were male with a median age of 37 ; all admitted to a past history of substance use . The presence of alpha - PVP was discovered in only one subject . All subjects tested positive for multiple other drugs . Samples from five of the six subjects contained a stimulant . Nicotine / cotinine and antipsychotic medications were present in four and antihistamines were discovered in three of the samples . The routine urine drug screen was negative for half the subjects . Our knowledge of the clinical features of confirmed " flakka " intoxication is limited . Clinicians should be aware that individuals who believe they are ingesting novel psychoactive substances such as " flakka " are unknowingly using other psychoactive substances .