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Acute heroin withdrawal in Viet Nam An immunochemical evaluation of excretio
Author(s) -
Robinson Maleolm G.,
Howe Richard C.,
, Norman W. Rea,
Siegel Howard W.,
Hegge Frederick W.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt1974162303
Subject(s) - heroin , morphine , urine , medicine , opiate , excretion , viet nam , urinary system , drug , physiology , pharmacology , anesthesia , receptor , economy , economics
Heroin use by American military personnel in Viet Nam differed from the classically reported civilian setting in the following ways: short duration, absence of medical complications, purity of drug, infrequency of concomitant drugs, and use of nasopulmonary routes rather than intravenous iniection. Urine morphine equivalent levels were assessed immunochemically (FRAT) in 10 patients and 5 controls for 15 days following withdrawal from heroin. The initial urine morphine equivalent concentration was over 20,000 ng per milliliter. Concentration declined exponentially over the first five days to fluctuating low levels thereafter. A linear relations hip between urine morphine concentration and total urinary morphine output suggests the existence of an active renal mechanism for morphine excretion. Historical assessment of heroin consumption and individual morphine excretion patterns indicated levels of opiate tolerance far higher than norrnally found in heroin‐dependent civilians.