A case of fatal idiosyncratic reaction to the designer drug 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and review of the literature

The stimulant designer drug 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) was first synthesized by Boehringer Ingelheim in 1969 and introduced on the black market in 2006. Only a small number of fatal intoxication cases have been reported in the literature, all with significant blood MDPV concentrations. In this report, we describe one fatality attributed to an idiosyncratic reaction to MDPV. The victim displayed agitation, violent behavior and delirium followed by cardiac arrest. Hyperthermia was observed at the hospital. The MDPV cardiac and femoral blood concentrations were 6 ng/mL. The presence of excited delirium syndrome and MDPV, a drug with a pharmacology similar to cocaine, leads to the conclusion that the victim suffered a fatal adverse reaction to MDPV. This is the first published case of idiosyncratic reaction to MDPV.