LAUSR

A 27-year-old man was found unconscious in his car by police. He was taken to an outside hospital where results of his serum alcohol and initial urine drug screen were reportedly negative. On arrival to our hospital, the patient was awake, partially oriented, and able to follow simple commands. He reported feeling sedated and “loopy,” was unable to remember any events before hospitalization, and was an overall poor historian. He denied illicit drug use, suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, or any physical complaints. He did express delusions including that he “was an alien with green blood.” Past medical history was significant for schizophrenia with continued auditory hallucinations secondary to noncompliance with risperidone therapy. A review of the medical record revealed a prescription for tramadol. Vital signs were normal save for borderline tachycardia and the physical exam was noncontributory. The patient's complete metabolic panel was significant for mild hypokalemia (potassium 3.1 mmol/L, reference interval 3.5–5.2 mmol/L), hypophosphatemia (phosphorous 0.7 mg/dL, reference interval 2.3–4.3 mg/dL), slightly increased aspartate aminotransferase (60 U/L, reference interval 10–37 U/L), and indirect bilirubinemia (3.7 mg/dL, reference interval 0.3–1.2 mg/dL). The initial troponin I concentration was 0.16 ng/mL (reference <0.06 ng/mL) that peaked at 0.21 ng/mL (≥0.20 ng/mL suggestive of myocardial damage) approximately 5 hours later. His creatine kinase (CK)3 was 1017 U/L (reference interval 40–230 U/L). Serial electrocardiograms were performed and showed evidence of left axis deviation but were otherwise unremarkable. The patient was admitted for observation and treated with intravenous fluids. A transthoracic echocardiogram was performed and did not show any evidence of wall motion abnormality. On the second day of hospitalization, he was deemed medically stable with a plan to resume risperidone therapy as an outpatient. His CK had trended downward to 403 U/L by the time of discharge. ### QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER 1. Very few drugs of abuse have …