title: Intoxication due to 1,4-butanediol.
abstract: We report a case of intoxication resulting from the ingestion of a liquid, sold in the illicit market as "liquid ecstasy," which was found to contain 1,4-butanediol, a metabolic precursor of gamma-hydroxybutiric acid (GHB). Identification of the substance in the liquid was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The toxicological analysis of blood, urine and gastric content of the victim was performed by immunoassay and gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection as screening techniques and by means of GC-MS for confirmation and quantitation of 1,4-butanediol and GHB. The following drug concentrations were found: 82 microg/ml (blood), 401 microg/ml (urine) and 7.4 microg/ml (gastric content) for 1,4-butanediol and 103 microg/ml (blood), 430.0 microg/ml (urine) for GHB. In addition to these, other drugs detected and their blood concentration found in this case were methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) 0.23 microg/ml and its metabolite methylenedioxyphenylamphetamine (MDA) 0.10 microg/ml. In the urine, a concentration of 0.10 microg/ml of benzoylecgonine was also found.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Toxicología, Ministerio de Justicia, C/ Luis Cabrera 9, 28002 Madrid, Spain. drogas@mad.inaltox.es
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lora-Tamayo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tena
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sancho
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Molina
mesh_terms: D002072:Butylene Glycols / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning* / Q000652:urine; D003042:Cocaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000652:urine; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000737:chemistry; D006213:Hallucinogens / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning* / Q000652:urine; D008297:Male; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D002072:Butylene Glycols; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D006213:Hallucinogens; D013287:Illicit Drugs; C005618:benzoylecgonine; C039681:1,4-butanediol; D003042:Cocaine; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine