A concerning trend of synthetic cathinone abuse in Hong Kong

• Published in: Hong Kong medical journal = Xianggang yi xue za zhi Vol. 29; no. 6; p. 563
• Main Authors: Leung, H S, Tang, M H Y, Tong, H F, Chong, Y K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Chinese
• Published: China Hong Kong Academy of Medicine 01.12.2023
• Subjects: Ecstasy; Hong Kong; Humans; Laboratories; Pathology; Psychotropic drugs; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Synthetic Cathinone; Toxicology; Hong Kong; Hong Kong China; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 1024-2708; 2226-8707
• DOI: 10.12809/hkmj2310966

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 LETTER TO THE EDITOR A concerning trend of synthetic cathinone abuse in Hong Kong HS Leung, MB, BS1,2; Magdalene HY Tang, PhD1,2; HF Tong, FHKCPath, FHKAM (Pathology)1,2; YK Chong, FHKCPath, FHKAM (Pathology)1,2 1 Hospital Authority Toxicology Reference Laboratory, Hong Kong SAR, China 2 Chemical Pathology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China Corresponding author: From 2009 to 2017, we identified only seven instances.2 Subsequently, an additional six cases were recorded between 2018 and 2022 (unpublished data, 2022). Since its identification in toxicology samples in the United States in 2021, the abuse of N,N-dimethylpentylone has become increasingly prevalent.3 This substance has also been detected in New Zealand and Spain through on-site pill testing, analysis of seized materials, and wastewater-based epidemiological investigations.4 The use and abuse of synthetic cathinones can result in a sympathomimetic toxidrome characterised by agitation, tachycardia, hyperthermia, convulsions, rhabdomyolysis, cardiovascular collapse, and ventricular arrhythmias. HS Leung 1,2; Magdalene HY Tang 1,2; HF Tong 1,2; YK Chong 1,2 1 Hospital Authority Toxicology Reference Laboratory, Hong Kong SAR, China 2 Chemical Pathology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China