New CDC Report Sounds Alarm Bells Over Increasing Number Of Overdose Deaths Tied To “Designer Xanax”
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report is sounding the alarm about a new type of “designer Xanax” linked to an increasing number of hospital admissions and deaths.
The drug is called bromazolam, an unauthorized benzodiazepine sedative, and has caused serious health issues such as hyperthermia, heart damage, seizures, comas, and extended ICU stays.
Known by other street names, including “dope” or “fake Xanax,” bromazolam is among at least twelve such unapproved “designer benzodiazepines.”
These lab-created drugs, intended to treat anxiety, are more potent than their legally sanctioned counterparts.
The CDC released its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which highlighted three cases involving “previously healthy young adults,” including two men aged 25 and one woman, who is 20.
These three individuals mistakenly consumed bromazolam, believing that it was actually alprazolam– or Xanax.
In February of last year, all three of them were discovered unconscious after ingesting the misidentified substance.
Efforts to revive them with an opioid reversal agent were also unsuccessful, and upon reaching the emergency department, they remained unresponsive.
The group of three all suffered from several generalized seizures and required intubation in the ICU in order to assist with breathing. They also developed fevers and exhibited symptoms of heart damage.
New Africa – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Since then, the two male patients have recovered and were released after receiving hospital care for four and 11 days, respectively.
However, the female patient fell into a coma due to epilepsy development. She was then moved to a second hospital 11 days later, and her current condition post-transfer remains unknown.
According to the research team led by Dr. Paul Ehlers, a Cook County Hospital toxicologist, seizures tied to bromazolam have escalated from just a few in 2018 to over 2,900 as of 2023.
Additionally, bromazolam has been detected in individuals who were arrested for DUI, and this has been attributed to its sedating properties.
“It is essential that physicians, medical examiners, toxicology laboratories, public health officials, and emergency responders be aware of the increased presence of bromazolam both in polydrug ingestions and in substance use disorder patients who report the use of benzodiazepine,” the MMWR concluded.
To read the CDC report’s complete findings, visit the link here.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:Science