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Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome

The gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) withdrawal syndrome can have a fulminant course, complicated by severe complications such as delirium or seizures. Detoxification by tapering with pharmaceutical GHB is a safe way to manage GHB withdrawal. However, a detailed description of the course of the GHB w...

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Autores principales: Wolf, Casper J. H., Beurmanjer, Harmen, Dijkstra, Boukje A. G., Geerlings, Alexander C., Spoelder, Marcia, Homberg, Judith R., Schellekens, Arnt F. A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8199158/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34073640
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm10112333
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author Wolf, Casper J. H.
Beurmanjer, Harmen
Dijkstra, Boukje A. G.
Geerlings, Alexander C.
Spoelder, Marcia
Homberg, Judith R.
Schellekens, Arnt F. A.
author_facet Wolf, Casper J. H.
Beurmanjer, Harmen
Dijkstra, Boukje A. G.
Geerlings, Alexander C.
Spoelder, Marcia
Homberg, Judith R.
Schellekens, Arnt F. A.
author_sort Wolf, Casper J. H.
collection PubMed
description The gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) withdrawal syndrome can have a fulminant course, complicated by severe complications such as delirium or seizures. Detoxification by tapering with pharmaceutical GHB is a safe way to manage GHB withdrawal. However, a detailed description of the course of the GHB withdrawal syndrome is currently lacking. This study aimed to (1) describe the course of GHB withdrawal symptoms over time, (2) assess the association between vital signs and withdrawal symptoms, and (3) explore sex differences in GHB withdrawal. In this observational multicenter study, patients with GHB use disorder (n = 285) were tapered off with pharmaceutical GHB. The most reported subjective withdrawal symptoms (SWS) were related to cravings, fatigue, insomnia, sweating and feeling gloomy. The most prevalent objective withdrawal symptoms (OWS) were related to cravings, fatigue, tremors, sweating, and sudden cold/warm feelings. No association between vital signs and SWS/OWS was found. Sex differences were observed in the severity and prevalence of specific withdrawal symptoms. Our results suggest that the GHB withdrawal syndrome under pharmaceutical GHB tapering does not strongly differ from withdrawal syndromes of other sedative drugs. The lack of association between vital signs and other withdrawal symptoms, and the relative stability of vitals over time suggest that vitals are not suitable for withdrawal monitoring. The reported sex differences highlight the importance of a personalized approach in GHB detoxification.
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spelling pubmed-81991582021-06-14 Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome Wolf, Casper J. H. Beurmanjer, Harmen Dijkstra, Boukje A. G. Geerlings, Alexander C. Spoelder, Marcia Homberg, Judith R. Schellekens, Arnt F. A. J Clin Med Article The gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) withdrawal syndrome can have a fulminant course, complicated by severe complications such as delirium or seizures. Detoxification by tapering with pharmaceutical GHB is a safe way to manage GHB withdrawal. However, a detailed description of the course of the GHB withdrawal syndrome is currently lacking. This study aimed to (1) describe the course of GHB withdrawal symptoms over time, (2) assess the association between vital signs and withdrawal symptoms, and (3) explore sex differences in GHB withdrawal. In this observational multicenter study, patients with GHB use disorder (n = 285) were tapered off with pharmaceutical GHB. The most reported subjective withdrawal symptoms (SWS) were related to cravings, fatigue, insomnia, sweating and feeling gloomy. The most prevalent objective withdrawal symptoms (OWS) were related to cravings, fatigue, tremors, sweating, and sudden cold/warm feelings. No association between vital signs and SWS/OWS was found. Sex differences were observed in the severity and prevalence of specific withdrawal symptoms. Our results suggest that the GHB withdrawal syndrome under pharmaceutical GHB tapering does not strongly differ from withdrawal syndromes of other sedative drugs. The lack of association between vital signs and other withdrawal symptoms, and the relative stability of vitals over time suggest that vitals are not suitable for withdrawal monitoring. The reported sex differences highlight the importance of a personalized approach in GHB detoxification. MDPI 2021-05-26 /pmc/articles/PMC8199158/ /pubmed/34073640 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm10112333 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Wolf, Casper J. H.
Beurmanjer, Harmen
Dijkstra, Boukje A. G.
Geerlings, Alexander C.
Spoelder, Marcia
Homberg, Judith R.
Schellekens, Arnt F. A.
Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome
title Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome
title_full Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome
title_fullStr Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome
title_short Characterization of the GHB Withdrawal Syndrome
title_sort characterization of the ghb withdrawal syndrome
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8199158/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34073640
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm10112333
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