An Unusual Amnestic Syndrome Associated With Combined Fentanyl and Cocaine Use
Authors: Todd Davies
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Letters6 November 2018An Unusual Amnestic Syndrome Associated With Combined Fentanyl and Cocaine UseTodd Davies, PhDTodd Davies, PhDJoan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia (T.D.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L18-0410 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Duru and colleagues (1) highlight a potential confounder when evaluating patients for new-onset amnesia. Because of the pervasive expansion of opioid use disorder in our society, this condition must now be considered in every avenue of medicine. However, nonmedical use of opioids—and even the basic pharmacology of these agents—is a complex issue. Many if not most persons who abuse opioids simultaneously abuse other substances. The authors thoroughly addressed concomitant use of various opioid derivatives, cocaine, and even synthetic opioids; however, they did not discuss gabapentin, which is frequently concomitantly abused with opioids (2) to potentiate the opioid ...References1. Duru UB, Pawar G, Barash JA, Miller LE, Thiruselvam IK, Haut MW. An unusual amnestic syndrome associated with combined fentanyl and cocaine use. Ann Intern Med. 2018;168:747-8. [PMID: 29379942]. doi:10.7326/L17-0575 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Evoy KE, Morrison MD, Saklad SR. Abuse and misuse of pregabalin and gabapentin. Drugs. 2017;77:403-26. [PMID: 28144823] doi:10.1007/s40265-017-0700-x CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Baird CR, Fox P, Colvin LA. Gabapentinoid abuse in order to potentiate the effect of methadone: a survey among substance misusers. Eur Addict Res. 2014;20:115-8. [PMID: 24192603] doi:10.1159/000355268 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Mallick-Searle T, Snodgrass B, Brant JM. Postherpetic neuralgia: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and pain management pharmacology. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2016;9:447-54. [PMID: 27703368] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Neurontin package insert. New York: Pfizer; 2015. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia (T.D.)Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L18-0410. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAn Unusual Amnestic Syndrome Associated With Combined Fentanyl and Cocaine Use Uzoma B. Duru , Gauri Pawar , Jed A. Barash , Liv E. Miller , Indrani K. Thiruselvam , and Marc W. Haut An Unusual Amnestic Syndrome Associated With Combined Fentanyl and Cocaine Use Uzoma B. Duru , Gauri Pawar , Jed A. Barash , Liv E. Miller , Indrani K. Thiruselvam , and Marc W. Haut Metrics 6 November 2018Volume 169, Issue 9Page: 662KeywordsAdverse eventsAmnesiaCocaineConflicts of interestDisclosureDrugsMemoryOpioid use disorderOpioidsPharmacology ePublished: 6 November 2018 Issue Published: 6 November 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...