ArticleThe mental health clinician2025
Intranasal naloxone to treat suspected synthetic cannabinoid overdose: A case report and literature review.
Article in The mental health clinician, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), such as K2 or spice, are potent, intoxicating, laboratory-produced compounds designed to mimic Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). Some SCs are full agonists that bind to cannabinoid receptors in the endocannabinoid system with significantly higher affinity than Δ9-THC, often causing more intense and unpredictable effects, including cardiovascular, respiratory, and neuropsychiatric complications. Due to their modifiable chemical structures, new SC variants are commonly created and can evade detection on standard toxicology screens, complicating diagnosis and treatment. A 43-year-old male with schizoaffective disorder and polysubstance dependence presented with mental status changes and respiratory depression following suspected SC use with K2. Symptoms improved with intranasal naloxone despite negative toxicology screens for opioids and known SCs. The patient later admitted to ongoing K2 use. A unit search revealed leafy substances though confirmatory testing was negative. This case raises important considerations about the limitations of routine toxicology screening and the risk of SC adulteration with opioids or other undetected substances. The patient's repeated clinical improvement following naloxone suggests either opioid contamination or functional interactions between cannabinoid and opioid receptors. Preclinical evidence supports the existence of CB1-opioid receptor cross talk, offering a possible explanation for naloxone's effectiveness in SC-related toxicity. Clinicians should consider naloxone in cases of suspected SC overdose even without confirmed opioid exposure. Naloxone's safety profile and rapid onset make it an additional tool in managing undifferentiated overdose presentations. Further research is needed to delineate the mechanism behind naloxone's potential effectiveness in SC-related toxicity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.