Intoxications involving acrylfentanyl and other novel designer fentanyls - results from the Swedish STRIDA project.

AbstractBackground: The number of new psychoactive substances (NPS) introduced through the online recreational drugs market increases continuously. This report from the Swedish STRIDA project describes analytically confirmed intoxications involving the novel fentanyl analogs acrylfentanyl, 4-chloroisobutyrfentanyl (4Cl-iBF), 4-fluoroisobutyrfentanyl (4F-iBF), and tetrahydrofuranfentanyl (THF-F), and cyclopentylfentanyl in a drug product.Methods: Patients with suspected NPS exposure presenting in emergency departments (ED) or intensive care units (ICU) in Sweden and requiring hospital care are invited to the STRIDA project. NPS analysis of serum and urine samples was performed by multi-component liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Data on clinical features were retrieved from telephone consultations with the Swedish Poisons Information Centre and from medical records.Results: Between April and October 2016, eleven intoxications involving acrylfentanyl (8 cases), acrylfentanyl together with 4Cl-iBF (1)...