Podcast 637: LSD

<p><strong>Contributor: Katie Sprinkel, MD</strong></p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Commonly known as “acid,” LSD is seeing a resurgence in the population as a recreational hallucination</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Onset is about 30 minutes with peak pharmacologic effects at 2-4 hours, the drug’s half life is 3 hours resulting in some prolonged effects</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">While there is not an significant addictive component of LSD, tolerance for LSD does occur and prolonged usage is associated with increased incidence of schizophreniform disorders</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Hallucinations and pseudo-hallucinations (sensory misperceptions) are typical of LSD intoxication, other common signs of intoxication include nausea, diaphoresis, tachycardia, mydriasis, and hypertension</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">More serious effects can be coma, hyperthermia, seizures, cardiac arrest, serotonin syndrome (with concomitant SSRI use) and coagulopathy, although the dose to cause these effects is very high</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Treatment is decreasing sensory stimulation, benzodiazepines in some cases, and symptomatic treatment - no specific antidote exists</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Blaho K, Merigian K, Winbery S, Geraci SA, Smartt C. Clinical pharmacology of lysergic acid diethylamide: case reports and review of the treatment of intoxication. Am J Ther. 1997 May-Jun;4(5-6):211-21. doi: 10.1097/00045391-199705000-00008. PMID: 10423613.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Klock JC, Boerner U, Becker CE. Coma, hyperthermia and bleeding associa