Toxicology letters
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Clinical relevance of ethanol coingestion in patients with GHB/GBL intoxication.
Ethanol intake can increase the sedative effects of gamma-hydroxybutyrate/gamma-butyrolactone (GHB/GBL), although the real clinical impact is unknown. We studied the clinical impact of the co-ingestion of ethanol in patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with acute toxicity related to GHB/GBL use. ⋯ Co-ingestion of ethanol increases the adverse effects of patients intoxicated by GHB/GBL, leading to greater depression of consciousness, need for treatment, admission to the ICU and longer hospital stay.