Cocaine: Difference between revisions

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==Adverse effects==
==Adverse effects==
*Acute
*Acute
**[[Chest pain]]
**[[Cocaine-associated chest pain]]
**Sympathomimetic qualities
**Sympathomimetic qualities
***Tachycardia
***Tachycardia

Revision as of 19:27, 18 February 2017

This page is for the drug cocaine; for clinical effects see cocaine toxicity

Background

Cocaine chemical structure
  • A sympathomimetic stimulant derived from an alkaloid paste made from the leaves of the coca plant
  • Both a legitimate medical drug and a drug of abuse

Forms of Abuse

  • Cocaine can be smoked, snorted, injected or ingested
  • Smoked form is often in a free-base or crack form

Detection

  • Unreliable in very acute intoxication[1]
  • Qualitative urine detection of cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine at cut-off of 300 ng/ml
    • On average, shows up in urine 24-48 hrs after use
    • Up to 22 days in chronic users

Adverse effects

Mechanism of action

  • Blocks reuptake of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine
  • Anesthetic effects achieved through sodium channel blockade

Differential Diagnosis

Sympathomimetics

See Also

References

  1. McCord J, et al. Management of Cocaine-associated chest pain and myocardial infarction. Circulation. 2008; 117: 1897-1907.
  2. Forrester, J. M., Steele, A. W., Waldron, J. A. and Parsons, P. E. (1990) ‘Crack Lung: An Acute Pulmonary Syndrome with a Spectrum of Clinical and Histopathologic Findings’, American Review of Respiratory Disease, 142(2), pp. 462–467. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/142.2.462.
  3. Ettinger, N. A. and Albin, R. J. (1989) ‘A review of the respiratory effects of smoking cocaine’, The American Journal of Medicine, 87(6), pp. 664–668. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(89)80401-2.