Fatal hyperpyrexia caused by xylazine: a case report

Ping Dai; Yanqing Chen; Xianqin Luo; Zhiqiang Zhou; Mengdi Shi; Aerbusili Genjiafu; Xiangdong Jian

doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1437960

Fatal hyperpyrexia caused by xylazine: a case report

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Jul 17:15:1437960. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1437960. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Ping Dai^#¹, Yanqing Chen^#², Xianqin Luo³, Zhiqiang Zhou^{1

4}, Mengdi Shi^{1

4}, Aerbusili Genjiafu^{1

4}, Xiangdong Jian^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Poisoning and Occupational Diseases, Emergency Medicine, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
² Emergency Department of Huangdao District Central Hospital, Qingdao, China.
³ Emergency Department of Suining Central Hospital, Suining, China.
⁴ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Xylazine is used in veterinary medicine as a sedative, analgesic, and muscle relaxant. However, in recent decades, it has frequently been detected in illicit drugs. Xylazine poisoning is characterized by depression of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Herein, we present a case of a 41-year-old man who not only had severe depression of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, but also developed hyperpyrexia during the treatment of xylazine poisoning, which led to his death 3 days after poisoning. This case indicates that, in addition to its other effects, xylazine may also cause hyperthermia, which has not yet been reported in humans.

Keywords: drugs; human; hyperpyrexia; poisoning; xylazine.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.