Rhabdomyolysis and Acute Kidney Injury after Use of 3-Methyl-PCP: A Case Report.
Journal of medical toxicology : official journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology April 1, 2026 Aaron B Deutsch, Natalie E Ebeling-Koning, Alex J Krotulski et al.
A 29-year-old man overdosed on 3-methyl-PCP, a novel dissociative anesthetic, and arrived at the emergency department with encephalopathy, tachycardia, hypertension, nystagmus, and diaphoresis. Laboratory tests showed severe rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury. The patient reported obtaining the drug online, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry confirmed 3-methyl-PCP in the drug product and biological specimens. This first laboratory-confirmed case demonstrates that 3-methyl-PCP can cause severe injury and highlights the public health risks of rapidly emerging, unregulated dissociative synthetic anesthetics. Early warning systems like the CSFRE NPS Discovery Program are critical for timely clinical response and public health protection.