Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-23-2025
Abstract
Medetomidine, a potent central acting α2 agonist, has emerged as a fentanyl adulterant in the non-medical opioid supply. Its use has been linked to a novel withdrawal syndrome that is often resistant to conventional treatment protocols. Four cases are presented exemplifying extreme, but increasingly common forms of this withdrawal syndrome. A literature review is provided demonstrating both the paucity of available literature as well as potential avenues for treatment and future research. As adulterants continue to proliferate in the illicit drug supply, clinicians should anticipate atypical withdrawal phenotypes and consider early intervention.
Recommended Citation
Durney, Phil; Paquin, Elise; Ftizpatrick, Gamal; Lockstein, Drew; Warrick-Stone, DO, TaReva; Montesi, Maeve; Patel, Sejal; Rashid, Jamal; Vaughan-Ogunlusi, Oluwarotimi; Goodsell, Kelly; Kahoud, Jennifer L.; Martin, Christopher; Chism, Keira; Goebel, Paul; Alexander, Karen; Goodstein, Dennis; and London, Kory S., "Profound Opioid and Medetomidine Withdrawal: A Case Series and Narrative Review of Available Literature" (2025). Division of Internal Medicine Faculty Papers & Presentations. Paper 83.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/internalfp/83
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
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Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in Psychoactives, Volume 4, Issue 4, 2026, Article number 37.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/psychoactives4040037. Copyright © 2025 by the authors.