Historique
Périodique
Comparison of acute lethal toxicity of commonly abused psychoactive substances
(Comparaison de la toxicité létale aiguë des drogues les plus courantes)
Auteur(s) :
GABLE, R. S.
Année
2004
Page(s) :
686-696
Sous-type de document :
Revue de la littérature / Literature review
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Refs biblio. :
103
Domaine :
Plusieurs produits / Several products
Discipline :
PRO (Produits, mode d'action, méthode de dépistage / Substances, action mode, screening methods)
Note générale :
Addiction, 2004, 99, (6), 686-696
Note de contenu :
tabl.
Résumé :
FRANÇAIS :
La toxicité létale de 20 substances (alcool, LSD, cannabis, Rohypnol, mescaline, ...) est évaluée comparativement à la dose consommée habituellement à des fins non thérapeutiques. A partir d'une recherche de la littérature (environ 3000 références) les données de rapports d'études sur ce sujet ont été collectées. La majorité des rapports soulignent que les personnes décédées de la toxicité létale aiguë d'une drogue avaient une consommation associée (la plupart de l'alcool). Le coefficient de sécurité ainsi calculé varie selon les drogues, allant de 1 à plus de 100 : l'héroïne intraveineuse ayant la toxicité physiologique directe la plus forte et les hallucinogènes la plus faible. Cette étude conclut que le coefficient de sécurité d'une drogue peut être établi sur son potentiel de létalité aigu.
ENGLISH :
Aims: To determine the acute lethal toxicity of a range of psychoactive substances in terms of the dose customarily used as a single substance for non-medical purposes. Design and method: A structured English-language literature search was conducted to identify experimental studies and clinical reports that documented human and non-human lethal doses of 20 abused substances that are distributed widely in Europe and North America. Four inclusion criteria were specified for the reports, and approximately 3000 relevant records were retrieved from search engines at Biosis, Science Citation Index, Google and the National Library of Medicine's Gateway. In order to account for different drug potencies, a "safety ratio" was computed for each substance by comparing its reported acute lethal dose with the dose most commonly used for non-medical purposes. Findings: The majority of published reports of acute lethal toxicity indicate that the decedent used a co-intoxicant (most often alcohol). The calculated safety ratios varied between substances by more than a factor of 100. Intravenous heroin appeared to have the greatest direct physiological toxicity; several hallucinogens appeared to have the least direct physiological toxicity. Conclusions: Despite residual uncertainties, the substantial difference in safety ratios suggests that abused substances can be rank-ordered on the basis of their potential acute lethality. (Author' s abstract)
La toxicité létale de 20 substances (alcool, LSD, cannabis, Rohypnol, mescaline, ...) est évaluée comparativement à la dose consommée habituellement à des fins non thérapeutiques. A partir d'une recherche de la littérature (environ 3000 références) les données de rapports d'études sur ce sujet ont été collectées. La majorité des rapports soulignent que les personnes décédées de la toxicité létale aiguë d'une drogue avaient une consommation associée (la plupart de l'alcool). Le coefficient de sécurité ainsi calculé varie selon les drogues, allant de 1 à plus de 100 : l'héroïne intraveineuse ayant la toxicité physiologique directe la plus forte et les hallucinogènes la plus faible. Cette étude conclut que le coefficient de sécurité d'une drogue peut être établi sur son potentiel de létalité aigu.
ENGLISH :
Aims: To determine the acute lethal toxicity of a range of psychoactive substances in terms of the dose customarily used as a single substance for non-medical purposes. Design and method: A structured English-language literature search was conducted to identify experimental studies and clinical reports that documented human and non-human lethal doses of 20 abused substances that are distributed widely in Europe and North America. Four inclusion criteria were specified for the reports, and approximately 3000 relevant records were retrieved from search engines at Biosis, Science Citation Index, Google and the National Library of Medicine's Gateway. In order to account for different drug potencies, a "safety ratio" was computed for each substance by comparing its reported acute lethal dose with the dose most commonly used for non-medical purposes. Findings: The majority of published reports of acute lethal toxicity indicate that the decedent used a co-intoxicant (most often alcohol). The calculated safety ratios varied between substances by more than a factor of 100. Intravenous heroin appeared to have the greatest direct physiological toxicity; several hallucinogens appeared to have the least direct physiological toxicity. Conclusions: Despite residual uncertainties, the substantial difference in safety ratios suggests that abused substances can be rank-ordered on the basis of their potential acute lethality. (Author' s abstract)
Affiliation :
2738 Fulton Street, Berkeley, CA 94705. Email : Robert.gablecgu.edu
Etats-Unis. United States.
Etats-Unis. United States.