Criminal poisoning of commuters in Bangladesh: Prospective and retrospective study

Lorazepam: a weapon of offence

The use of knock out drugs for perpetuation of crime has significantly increased in recent years. These drug facilitated crimes mainly involve robbery and sexual offences. Most of the drugs employed for these purposes affect the nervous system and bring a state of incapacitation and amnesia. The miscreants exploit these properties of drugs to commit such crimes. The unsuspecting travellers on public transport vehicles and women in disco parties are most vulnerable to such crimes. The unrestricted and unregulated sale of prescription drugs and general ignorance of such incidents is a challenge that needs to be addressed promptly.

Sleep self-intoxication and sleep driving as rare zolpidem-induced complex behaviour

INTRODUCTION

The GABA(A) receptor agonist zolpidem has been used for treatment of insomnia since years, but special side effects have been reported. These side effects were called zolpidem-induced sleep-related complex behaviour. Such complex behaviour is associated with somnambulism and includes sleepwalking, sleep eating, sleep conversation and sleep driving.

CASE PRESENTATION

Two cases of zolpidem-induced sleep-related complex behaviour following self-intoxication, sleep driving and amnesia are presented. In both cases, the subjects reported the voluntary intake of only one zolpidem tablet of 10 mg and amnesia for the time afterwards. Shortly after the onset of the drug's action, both individuals drifted into a somnambulism-like state and toxicological blood analysis suggested the intake of the remaining zolpidem tablets which might be called "sleep intoxication". Later, the subjects were arrested by police after driving under drug influence and not realizing the situation. Retrospectively, both subjects suffered from psychiatric disorders and in case 2, the subject was treated for depression with doxepin. Consequently, these co-factors may have increased the risk for the occurrence of the sleep-related complex behaviour.

DISCUSSION

Involuntary self-intoxication should be taken into account in addition to the known pattern of zolpidem-induced complex behaviour. In legal cases, the forensic expert has to assess the blood concentration of zolpidem in evaluating this strange behaviour.

CONCLUSION

Amnesia and incoherence of speech, disorganization of behaviour, inability to realize the situation and mood changes may indicate a zolpidem-induced somnambulism-like state with sleep-related complex behaviour.

Resistant hypertension? Assessment of adherence by toxicological urine analysis

OBJECTIVE

Uncontrolled hypertension under antihypertensive multidrug regimen is not necessarily always true resistance. Incomplete adherence is one of several possible causes of uncontrolled hypertension. Nonadherence remains largely unrecognized and is falsely interpreted as treatment resistance, as it is difficult to confirm or exclude objectively. This is the first study assessing adherence in patients with apparent resistant hypertension systematically via toxicological urine screening.

METHODS

All patients referred from primary care physicians because of uncontrolled hypertension between 2004 and 2011 were analysed. Adherence was assessed in all patients with uncontrolled hypertension despite the concurrent use of at least four antihypertensive agents by using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis for antihypertensive drugs or their corresponding metabolites in urine.

RESULTS

A total of 375 patients with uncontrolled hypertension were referred. After optimization of drug therapy and exclusion of white coat hypertension, 108 patients met criteria for resistant hypertension. Of those, 15 patients had secondary causes of hypertension and 17 achieved goal blood pressure with quadruple antihypertensive therapy. Of the remaining 76 patients, 40 patients (53%) were found to be nonadherent. Among nonadherent patients, 30% had complete and 70% had incomplete adherence; 85% of the latter had taken less than 50% of drugs prescribed. Lack of adherence was almost evenly distributed between different classes of antihypertensive drugs.

CONCLUSION

Low adherence was the most common cause of poor blood pressure control in patients with apparent resistant hypertension, being twice as frequent as secondary causes of hypertension. Incomplete adherence was far more common than complete nonadherence; thus, assessment of adherence in patients on multiple drug regime is only reliable when all drugs are included in assessment. Assessing adherence by toxicological urine screening is a useful tool in detecting low adherence, especially in the setting of multidrug regimen as a cause of apparently resistant hypertension.

Watch out for nuts in your travels: an unusual case of drug-facilitated robbery

Among many methods to facilitate robbery is spiking unsuspected victims' food or beverage with drugs. In this short report, we would like to present a highly unusual and a very creative case of drug-facilitated robbery to highlight the possibility of this type of case in the field of travel safety.