Relationship between cocaine and cocaethylene blood concentration with the severity of clinical manifestations

Background: Poisonings resulting from the abuse of drugs currently represent a serious problem for public health. Among the main agents involved, cocaine stands out. It became one of the most abused drugs around the world, and one of the main reasons for visits to the emergency department due to the use of illicit substances. The use of cocaine is primarily in combination with alcoholic beverages. There are few studies that correlate cocaine blood concentration and the severity of clinical manifestations in patients evaluated at Emergency Department. The aim of the present study was to verify the possible relationship between the blood concentration of cocaine and cocaethylene (product of the interaction of cocaine with ethanol) with the severity of the clinical manifestations presented by patients with cocaine intoxication. Methods: Blood levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the severity of clinical manifestations was assessed using the Stimulant Intoxication Score (SIS). To establish this relationship, Pearson's chi-square statistical test (x(2)) was used for categorical variables and Student's t for continuous variables, with statistical significance of 5% (p < 0.05). Results: Of the 81 patients included in the study, 77.8% were men with a mean age of 32.5 years +/- 8.5 and mean of SIS 3.4 +/- 2.5. Considering the toxicological analysis results, 24.7% of the blood samples were positive. The mean of cocaine and cocaethylene concentrations were 0.34 mu g/mL = 0.45 and 038 mu g/mL +/- 034, respectively. The blood concentration of cocaine and cocaethylene has not been shown to be useful information for the treatment and prognosis of patients, but blood levels of these substances at the time of treatment, regardless of their concentration, may be an indicator of severity, showing that any concentrations of these substances should be considered as potentially toxic. Conclusion: The application of the SE score proved to be an important alternative capable of predicting the severity of the patients due to cocaine intoxication in a fast and simplified way. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study aimed to verify the relationship between blood concentrations of cocaine and cocaethylene and the severity of clinical manifestations in patients with cocaine intoxication. The results showed that blood levels of these substances do not provide useful information for treatment and prognosis, but may serve as an indicator of severity. The application of the Stimulant Intoxication Score was found to be an important alternative for predicting the severity of patients with cocaine intoxication.