UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: "Liquid X" or Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB)

Category: Toxicology

Keywords: Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate, GHB, Liquid X, date rape, overdose (PubMed Search)

Posted: 10/18/2007 by Fermin Barrueto (Updated: 11/22/2024)
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GHB

  • Sedating and amnestic, has become notorious in chemical submission (date rape)
  • Very fast onset and rapid resolution though respiratory depression can occur 
  • Difficult to test for with few labs and quickly eliminated through urine 
  • Best chance to catch it is if the patient's first urine void is collected and tested