Cocaine Overdose (and/or Other Illicit Drugs Overdose Symptoms) - Medtick

Cocaine Overdose (and/or Other Illicit Drugs Overdose Symptoms)

What is it?

Groups identified as being at high-risk for illicit drug overdose include:

  • Injecting drug misusers (especially during first use of opioids and opioid misusers who have HIV or liver disease);
  • Multiple drug misusers (especially when sedatives are used in combination with opioids or benzodiazepines);
  • Alcohol misusers (supplementary effect with opioids or benzodiazepines and formation of coca-ethylene with cocaine);
  • Male sex;
  • People dependent on opioids;
  • People with reduced tolerance to opioids (e.g. those released from prison, discharged from inpatient or residential detoxification, or have stopped dependent opioid use);
  • Drug users who use on their own (fatal overdose risk increased).
An ambulance should be called in all cases of suspected overdose.

The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ, 2 May 2015, Vol 294, No 7860;294(7860):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2015.20068355

Physical symptoms

  • Increased body temperature?
  • Agitation?
  • Headache?
  • Feeling faint?
  • Confusion?
  • Seizures?
  • Loss of consciousness?
  • Tremors?
  • Conjunctivitis (eye infection)?
  • Chest pains?
  • Breathing difficulties?
  • Elevated pulse rate?
  • Nausea and Vomiting?
  • Abdominal pain?

Psychiatric symptoms:

  • Altered perception of reality (hallucinations and/or delusions)?
  • Paranoia?
  • Delirium – (medical emergency)
    • Problem with attention (This could mean the person is inattentive and does not focus or that he or she can focus on tasks but at the expense of all else — failure to shift attention.)
    • Disorganised thinking (such as not being able to remember things or being confused)
    • Altered level of consciousness (hyper-alertness and on edge, or sluggish, drowsy or withdrawn)
    • Change is sudden and/or does it fluctuate over hours or days
  • Threatening behaviour?
  • Anxiety?
  • Panic attack?

Detailed Information

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