Historique
Article de Périodique
A case report: Pavlovian conditioning as a risk factor of heroin 'overdose' death (2005)
(Etude de cas : le réflexe conditionné de Pavlov comme facteur de risque d'un décès à l'héroïne par "overdose")
Auteur(s) :
GEREVICH, J. ;
BACSKAI, E. ;
FARKAS, L. ;
DANICS Z.
Année
2005
Page(s) :
4 p.
Sous-type de document :
Etude de cas / Case report
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Refs biblio. :
12
Domaine :
Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs
Discipline :
PRO (Produits, mode d'action, méthode de dépistage / Substances, action mode, screening methods)
Thésaurus mots-clés
ETUDE DE CAS
;
HEROINE
;
SURDOSE
;
CONDITIONNEMENT
;
MORT
;
AUTOPSIE
;
MORPHINE
;
MESURES QUANTITATIVES
Thésaurus géographique
HONGRIE
Résumé :
Background: The authors present a case illustrating a mechanism leading directly to death which is not rare but has received little attention.
Case presentation: The case was evaluated by autopsy, investigation of morphine concentration in the blood, and clinical data. The heroin dose causing the 'overdose' death of a young man who had previously been treated a number of times for heroin addiction did not differ from his dose of the previous day taken in the accustomed circumstances. The accustomed dose taken in a strange environment caused fatal complications because the conditioned tolerance failed to operate. The concentration of morphine in the blood did not exceed the level measured during earlier treatment.
Conclusion: These results are in line with the data in the literature indicating that morphine concentrations measured in cases of drug-related death do not differ substantially from those measured in cases where the outcome is not fatal. A knowledge of the conditioning mechanism can contribute to prevention of fatal cases of a similar type. The harm reduction approach places great stress on preventive intervention based on data related to drug-related death.
Case presentation: The case was evaluated by autopsy, investigation of morphine concentration in the blood, and clinical data. The heroin dose causing the 'overdose' death of a young man who had previously been treated a number of times for heroin addiction did not differ from his dose of the previous day taken in the accustomed circumstances. The accustomed dose taken in a strange environment caused fatal complications because the conditioned tolerance failed to operate. The concentration of morphine in the blood did not exceed the level measured during earlier treatment.
Conclusion: These results are in line with the data in the literature indicating that morphine concentrations measured in cases of drug-related death do not differ substantially from those measured in cases where the outcome is not fatal. A knowledge of the conditioning mechanism can contribute to prevention of fatal cases of a similar type. The harm reduction approach places great stress on preventive intervention based on data related to drug-related death.
Affiliation :
Addiction Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary