“Foxy” Drug Causes Rhabdomyolysis

Newswise — A hallucinogenic drug commonly known as "foxy methoxy" (5-MeO-DIPT) has been abused with increasing frequency since the late 1990s, and physicians detail what may be the first report of rhabdomyolysis associated with ingestion of the drug.

According to the case report from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, a 23-year-old man was brought to the emergency department because of combative behavior and hallucinations. He'd ingested 25 milligrams (mg) of "foxy" about 30 minutes before his symptoms began.

After conducting laboratory studies and assessing the patient, physicians started treating the man for rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis is a condition characterized by disintegration or dissolution of muscle and a known complication of multiple drugs of abuse, but prior to this study hadn't been identified as a risk factor for "foxy."

The case report's authors say physicians should be aware of the potentially serious morbidity and mortality associated with "foxy," as well as with other hallucinogenic drugs that are increasingly being abused.

Authors of the Cleveland case report are Gheath Alatrash, D.O., Ph.D., now with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; Navneet Majhail, M.D., now with the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; and James Pile, M.D., of MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

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