European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Review Case Reports
Keep off the grass: marijuana use and acute cardiovascular events.
Marijuana is one of the most widely used recreational substances in the world, considered by many consumers as a relatively safe drug with few significant side-effects. We report the case of a 21-year-old man who suffered an acute myocardial infarction following the use of marijuana, despite having no other identifiable risk factors for an acute cardiovascular event. We review the published medical literature regarding acute cardiovascular events following marijuana use and postulate a possible mechanism for this unusual pathological consequence of marijuana use.
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A 61-year-old patient developed severe constrictive pericarditis with exertional dyspnea, 3 weeks after coronary bypass surgery. The diagnosis was confirmed by echocardigraphy and computed tomography examination. ⋯ Because initial treatment with steroids, diuretics and antiinflammatory drugs was of no avail, the patient underwent pericardiectomy, with a satisfactory outcome. The relatively rapid progress of constriction and the marked thickness of the pericardium that developed after a short period of time are emphasized.
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Insulin lispro has a more rapid onset and a shorter duration of hypoglycaemic action than regular insulin. We report a 39-year-old woman, with no previous medical history, who injected 300 U of the insulin lispro (Humalog) in an attempted suicide. Half an hour later, she was found comatose and brought to our emergency department. ⋯ The plasma insulin level 4 h after injection was 1465 mU/L, and 18 h after injection was 11 mU/L. Hypoglycaemia after an insulin lispro overdose may last for more than 11 h. Repeated hypoglycaemia after an insulin overdose could be avoided with a glucose infusion rate equivalent to the maximal glucose disposal rate.
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A 27-year-old male intravenous drug user presented to the Emergency Department of St James's Hospital with a 1-week history of progressive dysphasia, dysphagia and difficulty 'holding his head up' and 'keeping his eyes open'. He also complained of increasing weakness in his upper limbs, as a result of which he kept dropping things. He was on a methadone program but was using both intravenous heroin and cocaine at the time of presentation. ⋯ When respiratory function begins to deteriorate, anticipatory intubation is indicated. Early symptom recognition and early treatment with antitoxin are essential in order to prevent mortality, and to prevent additional cases, it is important to ascertain the presence of similar symptoms in contacts of the patient and local public health officials must be notified as one case may herald an outbreak. Given the continued threat of bioterrorism, the Centre for Disease Control Surveillance System in the United States must also be notified of any cases of botulism.