A 16-Year-Old Boy with Severe Gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) Withdrawal Delirium

Here we describe a 16-year-old patient suffering from an acute withdrawal syndrome with gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), a designer drug with increasing case numbers describing acute abuse, life threatening withdrawal or overdose complications. Acute management along with complications as regards vegetative adverse reactions to treatment are presented and briefly discussed. To the best of our knowledge this is the youngest case of severe GBL withdrawal syndrome reported so far in the available literature.

Because clinicians in psychiatric units are increasingly confronted with cases of severe withdrawal conditions related to the abuse of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD) [2] [3] [4] [6] [9] [10] [11], the authors want to present this case of a 16-year-old male adolescent suffering from acute withdrawal of GBL, a physiological precursor of GHB, and from which the body can produce GHB. Dyer et al. [2] reported one deadly case after cardiac arrhythmia. Acute withdrawal of GHB often presents with psychotic symptoms or those of acute alcohol withdrawal [1] [4] [7] [9] [12] [13], and following this these patients suffering from acute GHB/GBL or 1,4-BD withdrawal are likely to present in psychiatric inpatient units, making this possibly deadly syndrome highly relevant to child and adolescent psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Therefore, we consider the presentation of the youngest case of severe GBL withdrawal delirium in the existing literature to the scientific public of particular relevance.

References

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