Cross-Reactivity of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine With DRI Amphetamine Immunoassay.

BACKGROUND: Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are medical drugs used to treat the chemoprophylaxis of malaria and a second-line anti-inflammatory drug. METHODS: We performed a study of cross-reactivity of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the DRI Amphetamine Assay inspired by a case report of a self-ingestion of chloroquine after a family dispute, that involved the following: (1) an in vitro study with control samples of healthy subjects, (2) an in vivo study with samples of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and (3) an evaluation of the cross-reactivity of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in 3 additional immunoassays. RESULTS: In the case report, the Amphetamine DRI assay resulted positive both at 1000 ng/mL cutoff (1507 and 1137 ng/mL) and at 500 ng/mL cutoff (1178 and 642 ng/mL). Chloroquine urine levels were 103,900 and 100,900 ng/mL at 5 and 9 hours after ingestion. The results with control samples showed a positive cross-reactivity of chloroquine in the DRI Amphetamine Assay (approximately 0.74% and 0.89% at cutoff of 1000 and 500 ng/mL, respectively). Hydroxychloroquine did not cross-react with the DRI Amphetamine Assay up to 1,000,000 ng/mL. In patients treated with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, DRI Amphetamine did not produce false-positive results. The comparative assay study showed a positive cross-reactivity of chloroquine in the Emit II Plus Amphetamines Assay with control samples. CONCLUSIONS: Chloroquine can cause false-positive results in the DRI Amphetamine Assay when it is present at high concentrations. Hydroxychloroquine did not produce false-positive results neither in the DRI Amphetamine Assay nor in the others immunoassays evaluated.

Acute intoxication caused by synthetic cannabinoids 5F-ADB and MMB-2201: A case series.

Synthetic cannabinoids are relatively new substances of abuse. Recently, abuse of synthetic cannabinoids has been increasingly reported in the lay press and medical literature. When new compounds are introduced, their use is initially not restricted by prohibition therefore their consumption cannot be verified by standard drug tests. The use of these compounds among adolescents and young adults is constantly growing, making it important for emergency services to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of intoxication present. Overdose and chronic use of these substances can cause adverse effects including altered mental status, tachycardia, and loss of consciousness. Here, we report five cases of acute intoxication by synthetic cannabinoids 5F-ADB and MMB-2201 with analytical confirmation.

Alimemazine poisoning as evidence of Munchausen syndrome by proxy: A pediatric case report.

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP), also known as fabricated or induced illness in a child by a caretaker, is a form of abuse where a caregiver deliberately produces or feigns illness in a person under his or her care, so that the proxy will receive medical care that gratifies the caregiver. The affected children are often hospitalized for long periods and endure repetitive, painful and expensive diagnostic attempts. We present an analytically confirmed case of MSBP by alimemazine. A 3-year-old boy was brought repetitively to a Pediatric Emergency Department by his mother because he presented limb tremors, dysarthria, obnubilation, and ataxia and generalized tonic-clonic seizures coinciding with intermittent fever. Neither the rest of the physical examination nor the complementary tests showed any significant alterations. MSBP was suspected and a routine systematic toxicological analysis in urine and blood was requested. Alimemazine was detected in all biological samples. The administration of this drug was never mentioned by the mother and the subsequent interview with her corroborated the suspicion of MSBP. Clinically, after separation from the mother, the child's neurological symptoms gradually improved until the complete disappearance of the cerebellar symptoms. Alimemazine was quantified in serum, urine, gastric content and cerebrospinal fluid samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (maximum serum level was 0.42µg/ml). Hair quantification of alimemazine was performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in different segments of hair. The results confirmed regular substance use during the at least eight last months (8.8, 14.7, 19.7 and 4.6ng/mg hair starting from most proximal segment). This patient represents the first case published with analytical data of alimemazine in blood, urine, gastric content, cerebrospinal fluid and hair, which allowed us to prove an acute and repetitive poisoning with alimemazine as evidence of MSBP.

Streptococcus pyogenes cervical intertrigo with secondary bacteremia.

We report a 12-month-old infant girl with cervical intertrigo caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. This form of intertrigo has been reported in only five children, but it is clearly underestimated. It should be suspected for well-demarcated beefy-red lesions of the neck not responding to antifungal therapy. A rapid streptococcal antigen test of a lesion specimen is a useful diagnostic tool. Our patient was notable for the development of S. pyogenes bacteremia, a complication that has not been previously associated with this condition.