Gamma-hydroxybutyrate and cocaine intoxication in a Danish child

Gamma‐Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is an endogenic gamma‐aminobutyric acid analog originally used in the 1960s as an anesthetic drug. It was revoked due to side effects but later reintroduced as a drug for treatment of narcolepsy. In the 1980s GHB was promoted as a bodybuilding and weight loss aid due to its purported growth hormone stimulatory effects 1, 2. After it was banned in the US in 1990, its use in body building 3 and as a recreational drug 4 expanded. GHB reached the UK in the mid 1990s 5 and shortly thereafter Denmark as a substance of abuse 6. The prevalence of GHB use in Scandinavia is considered to be low, but the proportion of intoxications with GHB relative to other drugs‐of‐abuse is high and numerous fatalities have been described 7. Gamma‐butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4‐butanediol (BD) are prodrugs of GHB. Both substances are accessible as pure industrial solvents (>98%) and purchasing opportunities as well as recipes for converting these prodrugs into GHB are easily available 8. The legal status of GBL and BD vary and only a few countries have classified the compounds as controlled substances. GHB, GBL, and BD intoxication in children has been described. Accidental ingestion of GBL solvents 9, 10, 11, ingestion of BD coated toy beads 12, 13, 14, 15, and cases of children and adolescents unintentionally drinking GHB laced soft drinks have been reported 16, 17. We report a case of a 3‐year‐old boy ingesting GHB from a fluid container found in a fitness center. To our knowledge, GHB intoxication in children as a result of the substance's supposed growth hormone stimulatory effects and misuse among bodybuilders has not been reported before.