Background: This study was conducted to retrospectively assess the relationships between: rhabdomyolysis (quantified by creatine kinase (CK) activity) and kidney injury (quantified by serum creatinine concentration), sex, age, body temperature on admission, presence of seizures, and agitation or aggression in patients presenting to the Emergency Department with acute recreational drug toxicity. We also investigated the association with the substances ingested. Methods: All presentations to the 16 sentinel Euro-DEN centres in 10 European countries with acute recreational drug toxicity during the first year of the Euro-DEN study (October 2013 to September 2014) were considered. Cases that had abnormal CK activity recorded as part of routine clinical care were divided into 3 cohorts depending on peak CK activity. Cases with normal CK activity were included as a control group (4^th cohort). Results: Only 1,015 (18.4%) of the 5,529 Euro-DEN presentations had CK activity concentration recorded. Of this group 353 (34.8%) had also creatinine concentration measured. There were 375 (36.9%) with minor rhabdomyolysis, 69 (6.8%) with moderate rhabdomyolysis, and 24 (2.4%) with severe rhabdomyolysis; 547 (53.9%) were included in the control group. There was a positive correlation between CK activity and creatinine concentration (correlation coefficient r = 0.71, p<0.0001). There was no correlation between CK activity and body temperature at the time of presentation to the ED (correlation coefficient r = 0.07, p = 0.03). There was a positive correlation between CK activity and length of stay in the hospital (r = 0.31, p<0.001). There was no association between CK activity and the presence of seizures (p = 0.33) or agitation/aggression (p = 0.45), patients age (p = 0.4) or sex (p = 0.25). The 5 most common agents amongst patients presenting with rhabdomyolysis were: cocaine (n = 107; 22.9% presentations), amphetamine (76; 16.2%), cannabis (74; 15.8%), GHB/GBL (72; 15.4%) and heroin (67; 14.3%). The distribution of rhabdomyolysis in 5 most common drugs was (drug; patients with rhabdomyolysis, patients without rhabdomyolysis): cocaine (107, 122), cannabis (74, 117), GHB/GBL (72, 81), amphetamine (76, 66), heroin (67, 70). Conclusions: Abnormal values of CK activity occurred in almost half (46.1%) of presentations to the Emergency Department with acute recreational drug toxicity in whom CK activity was measured; however, severe rhabdomyolysis is seen in only a small minority (2.4%). Those with rhabdomyolysis are at significantly higher risk of kidney injury and have a longer length of hospital stay.

We describe a case of a 21-year-old male bodybuilder who overdosed on Parabolan (trenbolone acetate) because of its anabolic activity. The patient, with no previous medical history, experienced pruritus and yellow discoloration of the skin and sclerae. Basic biochemical laboratory examination revealed signs of cholestasis with a serum bilirubin level of up to 65.5 mg/dl. Because supportive medical treatment was ineffective, the patient was treated with the molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS). Five MARS cycles lasting from 8 to 12 hours were performed every second day. The procedure was well tolerated by the patient and resulted in a sustained relief of pruritus. At the 2-month follow-up visit the plasma bilirubin level had decreased to 2 mg/dl.

Exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) is among the most common causes of acute and chronic poisonings worldwide. The crucial point of treatment of such acute poisonings is to eliminate CO from the body as fast as possible. There are currently two approaches to the management of the CO intoxication: hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HOT) and normobaric oxygen therapy (NOT). HOT is highly effective and capable of achieving the CO elimination half-time (T½) as low as 15 minutes. Unfortunately this method is expensive and not always readily available. The elimination of CO with the use of NOT (T½~70 min) is slower, but treatment can be started even on the site of the exposure and continued while the patient is transported to a hospital. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a method using therapeutic hyperventilation with maintenance of isocapnia (IH) in the elimination of CO in volunteers exposed to CO and to compare selected gasometric and respiratory parameters during IH with the values obtained during hyperventilation with pure oxygen (“non-isocapnic hyperventilation”–NIH). The study involved 13 healthy, chronically-smoking volunteers. Each of them participated in two independent hyperventilation tests: IH and NIH. The levels of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and selected gasometric, cardiac and respiratory parameters were measured at 0, 10 and 20 minutes during both tests. Among 13 volunteers (8 women and 5 men) the initial COHb level was 5.0±1.5% (mean±SD) before the IH tests and 5.1±1.9% before the NIH tests (p>0.05). After 20 minutes of the procedures the mean COHb level was 2.9±0.9% for IH and 3.6±1.2% for NIH (p<0.01). The T½ of COHb was 29.6±12.2 min and 47.3±19.2 min respectively (p<0.01). After 10 minutes of NIH respiratory alkalosis was noted in 11 participants (84.6%). Such problem was not seen during the IH procedures. No serious adverse effects were recorded during either IH or NIH. Mild symptoms such as: dyspnea, headache and paresthesias were reported by 6 volunteers (46%) during both IH and NIH tests. It is worth noting that paresthesias were only reported during NIH, by 2 participants (15.4%). The elimination T½ of CO during IH was comparable with the values reported during HOT, and lower than can be achieved with NOT or NIH. No serious adverse effects were reported during IH procedures. Further studies, especially direct comparisons with NOT and HOT, are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of IH in the treatment of acute CO poisoning.