1 Department of Forensic Pathology and Toxicology, Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale, , 1701 rue Parthenais, Montréal, Québec, H2K 3S7, Canada. brigitte.desharnais@msp.gouv.qc.ca.
2 Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal, Québec, H4B 1R6, Canada. brigitte.desharnais@msp.gouv.qc.ca.
3 Department of Forensic Pathology and Toxicology, Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale, , 1701 rue Parthenais, Montréal, Québec, H2K 3S7, Canada.
4 Institute of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Toxicology, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 9, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
5 Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal, Québec, H4B 1R6, Canada.

A case of fatal idiosyncratic reaction to the designer drug 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and review of the literature.

Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2017 Sep;13(3):350-354

Authors: Desharnais B, Dazé Y, Huppertz LM, Mireault P, Skinner CD

Abstract

The stimulant designer drug 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) was first synthesized by Boehringer Ingelheim in 1969 and introduced on the black market in 2006. Only a small number of fatal intoxication cases have been reported in the literature, all with significant blood MDPV concentrations. In this report, we describe one fatality attributed to an idiosyncratic reaction to MDPV. The victim displayed agitation, violent behavior and delirium followed by cardiac arrest. Hyperthermia was observed at the hospital. The MDPV cardiac and femoral blood concentrations were 6 ng/mL. The presence of excited delirium syndrome and MDPV, a drug with a pharmacology similar to cocaine, leads to the conclusion that the victim suffered a fatal adverse reaction to MDPV. This is the first published case of idiosyncratic reaction to MDPV.

PMID: 28668987 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]