Journal of medical toxicology : official journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology
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Case Reports
Levamisole-induced occlusive necrotizing vasculitis of the ears after use of cocaine contaminated with levamisole.
Based on the best available data, approximately 2.1 million Americans use illicit cocaine each month; for the last several months, 30% of that cocaine has been "cut" with a veterinary pharmaceutical, levamisole. Levamisole can cause agranulocytosis, leaving patients susceptible to fulminate and opportunistic infections and also can cause a debilitating cutaneous necrotizing vasculitis. In this manuscript, we describe a case and provide an image of levamisole-induced necrotizing vasculitis of the ears.