Publications by authors named "Simon Hudson"

Introduction: Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) use is increasingly prevalent and is often associated with severe acute recreational drug toxicity (ARDT). 258 UK deaths were attributed to NPS use in 2021. Confirmatory testing which identifies NPS is limited by expense and timeliness.

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  • Clinicians often rely on patients' self-reports regarding substance use in cases of acute drug toxicity, but this study assesses the reliability of those reports compared to laboratory findings in serum samples.
  • A cohort of 1,000 adults with acute drug toxicity was analyzed over a year, focusing on the accuracy of self-reported drug use against identified substances through advanced mass spectrometry.
  • Results indicated that while most patients were fairly accurate in reporting drug classes used, with a positive predictive value of 0.68 and a negative predictive value of 0.90, substantial discrepancies were noted between reported and detected substances, particularly for hallucinogens.
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  • Vortioxetine is an antidepressant used for major depressive episodes and has a complex mechanism of action, with few reported overdose incidents.
  • A case study describes a 32-year-old male who ingested 1,260 mg of vortioxetine and had no significant toxic effects, despite the high dose.
  • The findings suggest that even at dangerously high levels, vortioxetine may not lead to serious toxicity, particularly serotonin syndrome, highlighting the need for more case reports to understand its safety in overdose situations.
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The analytical approaches taken by laboratories to implement robust and efficient regulation of horseracing medication and doping control are complex and constantly evolving. Each laboratory's approach will be dictated by differences in regulatory, economic and scientific drivers specific to their local environment. However, in general, laboratories will all be undertaking developments and improvements to their screening strategies in order to meet new and emerging threats as well as provide improved service to their customers.

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Background And Aims: Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative which has spread rapidly throughout the US illicit drug supply. This study aimed to describe the spread of xylazine throughout the UK illicit drug supply.

Methods: Xylazine detections in human biological samples were collated from toxicology laboratories operating in the United Kingdom with the date, location, case type, xylazine concentration and co-detected drugs (with quantifications where performed) detailed, where permitted, by the corresponding coroner.

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Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) pose a danger to public health. This study focused on individuals experiencing recreational drug toxicity who had used 5F-MDMB-PICA.Patient records were evaluated regarding vital signs, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and clinical features.

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Background: Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are amongst the largest groups of new psychoactive substances (NPS). Their often high activity at the CB1 cannabinoid receptor frequently results in intoxication, imposing serious health risks. Hence, continuous monitoring of these compounds is important, but challenged by the rapid emergence of novel analogues that are missed by traditional targeted detection strategies.

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  • 3-methoxyphencyclidine (3-MeO-PCP) is a strong dissociative drug that is popular for recreational use but can cause serious psychological and physical effects.
  • It was officially classified as a Schedule II substance under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 2021 due to its harmful impacts, with reports of multiple fatalities linked to its use.
  • The first reported death from 3-MeO-PCP in the UK highlights the need for caution among users, especially in high-energy environments like clubs, where increased heart rate and body temperature may worsen toxicity.
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Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRA) share minimal structural similarities to tetrahydrocannabinol or themselves. Due to their heterogeneous structures and the rapid appearance and disappearance of new SCRA on the drug scene, the quantitation of SCRA has not been attempted extensively. We present a wide series of SCRA concentrations based on a single-point calibration using peak height ratios for the extracted ion chromatogram of the protonated precursor ion against that of the internal standard.

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Introduction: Non-medical use of novel benzodiazepines has recently become common. Here, we describe the recent frequent detection of flubromazolam in patients attending United Kingdom emergency departments.

Methods: Adults presenting to participating hospitals with toxicity after suspected drug misuse were studied between March 2015 and January 2021.

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Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are compounds with specific androgenic properties investigated for the treatment of conditions such as muscle wasting diseases. The reported androgenic properties have resulted in their use by athletes, and consequently they have been on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list for more than a decade. SARMs have been investigated by pharmaceutical companies as potential drug candidates, but to date no SARM has demonstrated sufficient safety and efficacy to gain clinical approval by either the European Medicines Agency or the U.

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Metabolites of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are widely used as markers for identifying SCs' intake. Polydrug use involving SCs and ethanol may generate new metabolites, namely SC ethyl esters, hereby shown for the first time as new blood markers of SC-alcohol concomitant abuse. We report a case involving both the presence of 5F-PB22 and ethanol and the detection of their transesterifcation product, namely 5F-PB22 ethyl ester, in a postmortem blood sample.

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Animal sport doping control laboratories are constantly reviewing ways in which they can improve their service offering whilst ensuring that they remain economically viable. This paper describes the development and assessment of a rapid and economical method for the detection of intact glucuronide conjugates of three anabolic steroids and their metabolites along with three corticosteroids in canine urine. The analysis of intact drug conjugates for animal sport doping control is generally not performed routinely as it presents a number of analytical challenges, not least of which is the lack of availability of appropriate reference standards.

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Aims: To evaluate the long-term trends of new psychoactive substance (NPS) detection in pooled urine samples collected across a city centre.

Methods: Pooled urine samples from portable stand-alone urinals were collected on a monthly basis over 5.5 years (July 2013-December 2018) across a city centre.

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Introduction: 3-Hydroxyphencyclidine (3-HO-PCP) is a new psychoactive substance (NPS) and a hydroxy derivative of phencyclidine (PCP), and N-ethylhexedrone (Hexen) is a synthetic cathinone. We describe an analytically confirmed case of acute toxicity related to the use of both 3-hydroxyphencyclidine and N-ethylhexedrone.

Case Report: A 56-year-old male was brought to the Emergency Department by ambulance with hyperthermia (39.

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Novel synthetic opioids (NSOs) are a class of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) that are growing in popularity and presenting a significant public health risk. Included in this class are derivatives of the highly potent analgesic, fentanyl. Cyclopropylfentanyl (CycP-F) was first reported to the EU Early Warning System in August 2017, and was subsequently linked to more than 100 deaths in the US alone.

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Background: Fentanyl and analogues such as butyrylfentanyl, carfentanil, 4-fluorobutyrylfentanyl, and furanylfentanyl may be either added to, or sold as, heroin. Fentanyl and carfentanil have approximately 100 and 10,000 times the potency of morphine, respectively, and there is thus a high risk of death with the use of these drugs.

Methods: We looked for fentanyl/fentanyl analogues using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) in selected biological samples obtained post-mortem February 2017-end January 2018.

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The oral tablet formulation of butylscopolamine, which is available without prescription, is commonly used by trainers of racing greyhounds to treat functional urethral obstruction. As medication control of butylscopolamine is therefore required for such use to ensure the integrity of greyhound racing, an administration study was performed in six greyhounds to determine the pharmacokinetics of orally administered butylscopolamine. A single dose of one 10 mg butylscopolamine tablet was administered orally to simulate this use in greyhound racing.

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Background: Synthetic fentanyl analogues are highly potent opioid drugs which have no pharmaceutical use in humans. We detected the synthetic fentanyl analogues; carfentanil, butyryl fentanyl, fluorobutyrylfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, and alfentanil as well as fentanyl itself in 25 cases in early 2017. There have been no previous reports of synthetic fentanyl deaths in the United Kingdom (UK).

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Context: Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists are the largest group of new psychoactive substances reported in the last decade; in this study we investigated how commonly these drugs are found in patients presenting to the Emergency Department with acute recreational drug toxicity.

Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study enrolling consecutive adult patients presenting to an Emergency Department (ED) in London (UK) January-July 2015 (6 months) with acute recreational drug toxicity. Residual serum obtained from a serum sample taken as part of routine clinical care was analyzed using high-resolution accurate mass-spectrometry with liquid-chromatography (HRAM-LCMSMS).

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Article Synopsis
  • Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists (SCRAs) are a rapidly evolving group of new psychoactive substances that pose challenges in predicting their harms in pre-clinical studies.
  • A case involving a 19-year-old female revealed serious health effects, including seizures and hallucinations, after she consumed "cannabis tea" and LSD, which contained confirmed SCRAs (5FAKB-48 and 5F-PB-22).
  • This case underscores the complexities in understanding SCRAs' toxicity, especially in patients with existing mental health conditions treated with medications like fluoxetine and citalopram.
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