Acute intoxications with carisoprodol.
Carisoprodol is a drug frequently prescribed for lower back pain. Several case reports on the toxic potential have been published. Larger autopsy materials have supported the high toxicity of the drug, but have also shown that carisoprodol most often appears in mixed intoxications. The present study reports on contacts concerning possible intoxications with carisoprodol to the Norwegian Poisons Information Department. From 1992 to 2003, the number of contacts concerning carisoprodol rose heavily, also when adjusting for increasing total number of contacts. There was a relationship between the whole sales figure of carisoprodol and the number of contacts. Of the cases classified as "serious intoxications", carisoprodol was the second most frequent drug, only surpassed by acetaminophen (paracetamol). Despite the potential weaknesses of the present material, this study gave an additional indication of a high toxicity of carisoprodol.
Høiseth
Gudrun
G
Division of Forensic Toxicology and Drug Abuse, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. gugu@fhi.no
Sørlid
Hanne Kristin
HK
Bramness
Jørgen
J
D002328:Carisoprodol / Q000506:poisoning*; D062787:Drug Overdose; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009125:Muscle Relaxants, Central / Q000506:poisoning*; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011039:Poison Control Centers; D011041:Poisoning / Q000401:mortality*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D009125:Muscle Relaxants, Central; D002328:Carisoprodol