BMJ 1995;311:1089 (21 October)

Letters

Dangers of cocaine and adrenaline paste

Exceeding the recommended dose may have serious sequelae

EDITOR,--K E A Nicholson and J E G Rogers report serious complications associated with the use of topical cocaine with adrenaline,1 but they draw inappropriate conclusions about the evidence they present and fail adequately to emphasise that the recommended doses and concentrations were exceeded.2 3 It is perhaps not surprising that serious sequelae may occur under these circumstances.

We are surprised that Nicholson and Rogers feel able to conclude from their three cases that it was the combination of cocaine and adrenaline that is responsible for the complications they observed; this is an unreasonable assumption. The randomised trial they quote showed that the addition of 1/1000 adrenaline to a 10% solution of cocaine was generally associated with significantly lower plasma cocaine concentrations than were seen with cocaine alone and that the combination of the two drugs was not associated with a change in . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Lesson of the Week: Cocaine and adrenaline paste: a fatal combination?
K E A Nicholson and J E G Rogers
BMJ 1995 311: 250-251. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Morris, K E A, Rogers, J E G (1996). Dangers of cocaine and adrenaline paste. BMJ 312: 381-381 [Full text]  
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