The NBOMe compounds are highly potent 5HT2A receptor agonists and are also agonists at alpha-adrenergic receptors, which likely account for their serotonergic and sympathomimetic symptoms. The clinical testing of NBOMe drugs is not commonly available. Clinicians as well as laboratory staff play an important role in facilitating the detection of this group of potentially dangerous emerging drugs.

No abstract

There is a lack of information on the toxicodynamics and toxicokinetics of bromadiolone in humans; further studies are needed before the plasma bromadiolone level can serve as one of the logical and safe therapeutic endpoints for vitamin K1 therapy.

No abstract

Aims Proprietary Chinese medicines (pCMs) and health products, generally believed to be natural and safe, are gaining popularity worldwide. However, the safety of pCMs and health products has been severely compromised by the practice of adulteration. The current study aimed to examine the problem of adulteration of pCMs and health products in Hong Kong. Methods The present study was conducted in a tertiary referral clinical toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong. All cases involving the use of pCMs or health products, which were subsequently confirmed to contain undeclared adulterants, from 2005 to 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. Results A total of 404 cases involving the use of 487 adulterated pCMs or health products with a total of 1234 adulterants were identified. The adulterants consisted of approved drugs, banned drugs, drug analogues and animal thyroid tissue. The six most common categories of adulterants detected were nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (17.7%), anorectics (15.3%), corticosteroids (13.8%), diuretics and laxatives (11.4%), oral antidiabetic agents (10.0%) and erectile dysfunction drugs (6.0%). Sibutramine was the most common adulterant (n = 155). The reported sources of these illicit products included over‐the‐counter drug stores, the internet and Chinese medicine practitioners. A significant proportion of patients (65.1%) had adverse effects attributable to these illicit products, including 14 severe and two fatal cases. Psychosis, iatrogenic Cushing syndrome and hypoglycaemia were the three most frequently encountered adverse effects. Conclusions Adulteration of pCMs and health products with undeclared drugs poses severe health hazards. Public education and effective regulatory measures are essential to address the problem.

No abstract

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT • Proprietary Chinese medicines (pCMs), generally considered to be natural and harmless, are commonly used for many indications, including diabetes mellitus. Adulteration of pCMs with undeclared pharmaceuticals has been reported previously. However, a detailed study investigating the problem of adulterated herbal antidiabetic products and their associated toxicities is largely lacking. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS • This study shows the severity of the under‐recognized problem of adulteration of herbal antidiabetic products with undeclared pharmaceuticals, including both registered and banned drugs. Potentially fatal adverse effects could result from the use of these illicit products. AIMS The current study aims to examine the problem of adulteration of herbal antidiabetic products with undeclared pharmaceuticals, including both registered and banned drugs. METHODS All cases involving use of adulterated herbal antidiabetic products referred to a tertiary centre for clinical toxicology analysis from 2005 to 2010 inclusive were retrospectively reviewed. The patients' demographic characteristics, clinical presentations, medical history, drug history and the analytical findings of the herbal antidiabetic products were studied. RESULTS A total of 27 cases involving use of 29 adulterated herbal antidiabetic products were identified. Seventeen of the patients (63%) had clinical toxicities associated with the illicit products. Hypoglycaemia was the most common adverse effect, followed by lactic acidosis. Analysis of the 29 illicit herbal antidiabetic products revealed eight undeclared registered or banned oral antidiabetic agents, namely glibenclamide (n= 22), phenformin (n= 18), metformin (n= 6), rosiglitazone (n= 6), gliclazide (n= 2), glimepiride (n= 2), nateglinide (n= 1) and repaglinide (n= 1). Non‐antidiabetic drugs were also detected in some products. Up to four adulterants were detected within the same product. CONCLUSIONS Adulteration of herbal antidiabetic products with undeclared pharmaceuticals is a significant yet under‐recognized problem. Patients taking these illicit products could be at risk of potentially fatal adverse effects. It is important to educate the public to avoid taking pCMs of dubious source. Effective regulatory measures should be put in place to address the problem.

No abstract