• L Dufayet, W Caré, H Laborde-Casterot, L Chouachi, J Langrand, and D Vodovar.
• Centre antipoison de Paris - Fédération de toxicologie (FeTox), hôpital Fernand-Widal, AP-HP, 75010 Paris, France; Inserm, UMRS-1144, Faculté de pharmacie, 75006 Paris, France; Unité Médico-judiciaire, Hôtel-Dieu, AP-HP, 75001 Paris, France; UFR de médecine, université de Paris, 75010 Paris, France.
• Rev Med Interne. 2022 Jul 1; 43 (7): 402-405.

IntroductionRecreational use of nitrous oxide (N2O) is increasing in Western countries, including France. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some authors warned that recreational N2O use could increase further as the supply of illicit drugs was impacted by various containment measures.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed N2O exposures reported to the Paris Poison Control Center (France) from 2010/01/01 to 2021/04/15. The Poison Severity Score was used to grade severity.ResultsDuring the study period, 93 cases of N2O recreational exposures were reported (male/female ratio: 1.1; median age: 20.9 years range: [14.8-49.0]). The first case was reported in 2012, 84/93 (90%) and 65/93 (70%) were reported since 2019 and March 17th 2020 (first lockdown in France) respectively. Most of the patients were symptomatic (88/93; 95%) and developed neurological symptoms (78/93; 84%). Among the fourteen patients who developed moderate to severe symptoms, eleven were reported after March 2020.ConclusionDespite a marked increase in recreational N2O exposures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the exact impact of COVID-19 on this increase remains to be determined as it was observed from 2019.Copyright © 2022 Société Nationale Française de Médecine Interne (SNFMI). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

21 keywords...

hide…