RESUMO
In Germany, dextromethorphan (DXM) is used as OTC cough and cold medication. Overdose, however, can cause psychotropic side effects and is therefore abused among adolescents. To better control the drug by the pharmacist, a pilot was undertaken to monitor drug selling of DXM in German retail pharmacies. Over a 6-month period, pharmacies documented the request of DXM preparations. These data were compared to abuse cases of the German regulatory agency, the Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM), an analysis of the 2010 annual sales statistic from the IMS OTC and information about DXM products from drug abuse websites. Especially the young DXM buyers in German retail pharmacies showed characteristics similar to those people from the BfArM abuse data file: They were male and used the DXM product Hustenstiller-ratiopharm. Hustenstiller-ratiopharm has well-directed instructions for DXM abuse in the internet. However, the 2010 annual sales statistic from the IMS OTC report identified Wick MediNait as the product with highest sales numbers whereas Hustenstiller-ratiopharm" was of less importance indicating DXM abuse is limited to a small part of the DXM user population.