Health and Care: Solvent extraction method

 Health and Care: Solvent extraction method

The simpler crack method allows the alkaloidal cocaine to precipitate without a solvent extraction method. Cocaine may then be smoked using various methods, such as a glass or regular pipe, or by mixing cocaine with tobacco or marijuana in cigarette form. This method of use is most irritating to the bronchial epithelium; bronchospasm may be a result of inflammation of the respiratory epithelium by either cocaine or adulterants. 

Solvent extraction

In a study comparing the acute effects of inhaled vs IV cocaine on airway dynam-ics, it was demonstrated that smoked cocaine base caused bronchoconstriction, whereas a similar intoxicating dose of IV cocaine did not. The most likely mechanism is because of a topical irritant effect of the cocaine or the contaminants with which it is mixed. IgE-mediated sensitivity to cocaine may also be a factor in some cases. 

Asthmatic patients who smoke cocaine may be at high risk for developing severe exacerbations of their asthma, depending on the degree of airways hyperresponsiveness, the dose of inhaled cocaine, and the nature of the contaminants inhaled during crack smoking.

The reported prevalence of cocaine use varies significantly because of selection and reporting biases. In the 1980s, Drug Abuse Warning Network data reflected an increase to 5.7 million regular cocaine users in the country by the end of the decade. Data from the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse estimates 1.5 million Americans aged > 12 years are regular cocaine users. 

However, the Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates the number of chronic cocaine users to be 3.6 million. About 40% of cocaine users use cocaine in the form of crack (National Household Survey on Drug Abuse data). It is the leading cause of illicit drug-related visits to EDs in the United States. In a prospective study by McNagny et al, the prevalence of cocaine use in young men presenting to an inner-city walk-in clinic was determined to be 39% by urine testing; 72% of those testing positive denied illicit drug use in the prior 3 days.