• Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Feb 2008

    Case Reports

    Unusual complications of heroin abuse: transverse myelitis, rhabdomyolysis, compartment syndrome, and ARF.

    • Vaibhav Sahni, Dheeraj Garg, Sandeep Garg, Satish Kumar Agarwal, and Narinder Pal Singh.
    • Department of Internal Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. vaibhavsahni@hotmail.com
    • Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2008 Feb 1; 46 (2): 153-5.

    IntroductionHeroin overdose can cause various rare neurological complications like spongiform leukoencephalopathy, seizures, stroke, toxic amblyopia, transverse myelopathy, mononeuropathy, plexopathy, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, rhabdomyolysis, compartment syndrome, fibrosing myopathy, and acute bacterial myopathy. We report here the simultaneous presentation of multiple complications of heroin toxicity.Case ReportA young heroin addict was found unarousable lying in the lotus posture. Examination showed quadriplegia and left leg gangrene. He subsequently developed heroin-induced transverse myelitis, rhabdomyolysis, left leg compartment syndrome, and myoglobin-induced acute renal failure.DiscussionThis case leads us to consider a common linked or systemic mechanism of injury rather than a local mechanism when multiple simultaneous organ failure occurs complicating heroin abuse.

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