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Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist-related Intoxication: Impact and Legislative Success

Received: 19 December 2019    Accepted: 16 January 2020    Published: 31 January 2020
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Abstract

Synthetic cannabinoids Receptor Agonist (SCRA) intoxication presents with various medical and psychiatric symptoms. The products are sold as K2 or Spice. The symptoms range from agitation, altered mental status (AMS), lethargy, paranoid behavior, psychosis and seizures. In some cases, brief psychiatric or inpatient medicine admission was required for stabilization. Some patients seem to stay longer for observation in the ED. These patients worsen the already problematic ED crowding. To assess K2-related ED presentation, length of stay in the ED and types of disposition over a 5 year period. A retrospective chart review of patients who presented with K2 intoxication. Charts were reviewed from January 1, 2012 until December 31st, 2016 excluding 2016. Demographics, age, gender, past psychiatric illness and other substance abuse history were reviewed. A total of 1405 patients were seen for K2-related ED visits from January 1, 2012 until December 31st, 2016 of which 1279 patients (91%) were male and 126 patients (9%) were female. One hundred thirty nine patients (9.9%) were hospitalized and 1266 patients (90.1%) were either discharged or left from the ED. Twenty-eight (2.0%) stayed more than 16 hours in the ED. Of the 53 patients, whose urine the showed benzodiazepine or opiates 36 patients stayed more than 6 hours in the ED. Most patients with K2 use were male (91%) between the ages of 19 and 50 years (76.4%). There was a surge in K2-related presentation in 2015, particularly in the months of April until November. In addition, K2-related intoxication led to prolonged ED stay, which could affect the ED crowding phenomenon. A concerted effort from public pressure and legislative measures led to a reduction of K2-related visits to the ED.

Published in American Journal of Internal Medicine (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16
Page(s) 30-33
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

SCRAs, Intoxication, ED Crowding, Length of Stay

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Getaw Worku Hassen, Andrew Eng, Ioana Scherbakova, Aida Eliza Abdul Majid, Alessandra Renee Piscina, et al. (2020). Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist-related Intoxication: Impact and Legislative Success. American Journal of Internal Medicine, 8(1), 30-33. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16

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    ACS Style

    Getaw Worku Hassen; Andrew Eng; Ioana Scherbakova; Aida Eliza Abdul Majid; Alessandra Renee Piscina, et al. Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist-related Intoxication: Impact and Legislative Success. Am. J. Intern. Med. 2020, 8(1), 30-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16

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    AMA Style

    Getaw Worku Hassen, Andrew Eng, Ioana Scherbakova, Aida Eliza Abdul Majid, Alessandra Renee Piscina, et al. Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist-related Intoxication: Impact and Legislative Success. Am J Intern Med. 2020;8(1):30-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16,
      author = {Getaw Worku Hassen and Andrew Eng and Ioana Scherbakova and Aida Eliza Abdul Majid and Alessandra Renee Piscina and Thara Amilineni and Cynthia Francois and Asha Roy and Kevin Yiu and Canny Li and Michael Lyashenko and Monica Diep and Roger Chirurgi and Golnar Pashmforoosh and Hossein Kalantari},
      title = {Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist-related Intoxication: Impact and Legislative Success},
      journal = {American Journal of Internal Medicine},
      volume = {8},
      number = {1},
      pages = {30-33},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajim.20200801.16},
      abstract = {Synthetic cannabinoids Receptor Agonist (SCRA) intoxication presents with various medical and psychiatric symptoms. The products are sold as K2 or Spice. The symptoms range from agitation, altered mental status (AMS), lethargy, paranoid behavior, psychosis and seizures. In some cases, brief psychiatric or inpatient medicine admission was required for stabilization. Some patients seem to stay longer for observation in the ED. These patients worsen the already problematic ED crowding. To assess K2-related ED presentation, length of stay in the ED and types of disposition over a 5 year period. A retrospective chart review of patients who presented with K2 intoxication. Charts were reviewed from January 1, 2012 until December 31st, 2016 excluding 2016. Demographics, age, gender, past psychiatric illness and other substance abuse history were reviewed. A total of 1405 patients were seen for K2-related ED visits from January 1, 2012 until December 31st, 2016 of which 1279 patients (91%) were male and 126 patients (9%) were female. One hundred thirty nine patients (9.9%) were hospitalized and 1266 patients (90.1%) were either discharged or left from the ED. Twenty-eight (2.0%) stayed more than 16 hours in the ED. Of the 53 patients, whose urine the showed benzodiazepine or opiates 36 patients stayed more than 6 hours in the ED. Most patients with K2 use were male (91%) between the ages of 19 and 50 years (76.4%). There was a surge in K2-related presentation in 2015, particularly in the months of April until November. In addition, K2-related intoxication led to prolonged ED stay, which could affect the ED crowding phenomenon. A concerted effort from public pressure and legislative measures led to a reduction of K2-related visits to the ED.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AU  - Getaw Worku Hassen
    AU  - Andrew Eng
    AU  - Ioana Scherbakova
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    AU  - Alessandra Renee Piscina
    AU  - Thara Amilineni
    AU  - Cynthia Francois
    AU  - Asha Roy
    AU  - Kevin Yiu
    AU  - Canny Li
    AU  - Michael Lyashenko
    AU  - Monica Diep
    AU  - Roger Chirurgi
    AU  - Golnar Pashmforoosh
    AU  - Hossein Kalantari
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    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajim.20200801.16
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    AB  - Synthetic cannabinoids Receptor Agonist (SCRA) intoxication presents with various medical and psychiatric symptoms. The products are sold as K2 or Spice. The symptoms range from agitation, altered mental status (AMS), lethargy, paranoid behavior, psychosis and seizures. In some cases, brief psychiatric or inpatient medicine admission was required for stabilization. Some patients seem to stay longer for observation in the ED. These patients worsen the already problematic ED crowding. To assess K2-related ED presentation, length of stay in the ED and types of disposition over a 5 year period. A retrospective chart review of patients who presented with K2 intoxication. Charts were reviewed from January 1, 2012 until December 31st, 2016 excluding 2016. Demographics, age, gender, past psychiatric illness and other substance abuse history were reviewed. A total of 1405 patients were seen for K2-related ED visits from January 1, 2012 until December 31st, 2016 of which 1279 patients (91%) were male and 126 patients (9%) were female. One hundred thirty nine patients (9.9%) were hospitalized and 1266 patients (90.1%) were either discharged or left from the ED. Twenty-eight (2.0%) stayed more than 16 hours in the ED. Of the 53 patients, whose urine the showed benzodiazepine or opiates 36 patients stayed more than 6 hours in the ED. Most patients with K2 use were male (91%) between the ages of 19 and 50 years (76.4%). There was a surge in K2-related presentation in 2015, particularly in the months of April until November. In addition, K2-related intoxication led to prolonged ED stay, which could affect the ED crowding phenomenon. A concerted effort from public pressure and legislative measures led to a reduction of K2-related visits to the ED.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • School of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, USA

  • Premedical Postbaccalaureate Program, Columbia University, New York, USA

  • Premedical Postbaccalaureate Program, Columbia University, New York, USA

  • Premedical Postbaccalaureate Program, Columbia University, New York, USA

  • School of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, USA

  • School of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

  • Department of Emergency Medicine, Metropolitan Hospital Center, NYMC, New York, USA

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