Citation

MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 1996; 45(22): 457-460.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, (in public domain), Publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8622615

Abstract

Heroin is mixed ("cut") frequently with other substances primarily to increase its weight for retail sale (e.g., mannitol and starch) and to add pharmacologic effects (e.g., dextromethorphan and lidocaine). During 1995 and 1996, health departments and poison-control centers in New York City (NYC); Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; and Baltimore reported at least 325 cases of drug overdoses requiring medical treatment in persons who had used "street drugs" sold as heroin that probably also contained scopolamine, an anticholinergic drug. This report summarizes the clinical and epidemiologic features of these cases, which represent a new type of drug overdose.

Language: en