An outbreak of severe coagulopathy in northern Israel among users of illicit synthetic cannabinoids adulterated with brodifacoum.

Introduction: Adulteration of illicit drugs is a well-known phenomenon that may expose consumers to unexpected adverse effects. We report a large outbreak of severe coagulopathy in northern Israel during nine months in 2021-2022 among users of synthetic cannabinoids adulterated with a long-acting anticoagulant, brodifacoum.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study based on data extracted from the Israeli National Poison Information Center database and from electronic medical patient records at three participating hospitals.

Limited Sampling Strategies Supporting Individualized Dose Adjustment of Intravenous Busulfan in Children and Young Adults.

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for busulfan supports dose adjustment during conditioning for stem cell transplantation. The authors aimed to develop and validate limited sampling strategies (LSS) of 4-5 samples for a precise estimation of the area under concentration (AUC)-time curve of busulfan, in plasma as an alternative to an intensive sampling strategy (ISS) requiring 9-10 samples.

Methods: ISS TDM data from 297 patients (≤18 years of age) were used.

Comparison of everolimus QMS immunoassay on Architect ci4100 and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry: lack of agreement in organ-transplanted patients.

Background: Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is the method of choice for the determination of everolimus whole blood concentrations but is not always available. Therefore, immunoassays have been developed for clinical monitoring of everolimus. In previous studies, the Quantitative Microsphere System (QMS) immunoassay had a positive bias compared with LC-MS/MS, but was judged acceptable, although clinical agreement (eg, 95% limits of agreement) was not reported.